Budget 2024 must target income support for children living in poverty - community groups

Budget 2024 must target income supports for children living in international protection and families in receipt of social welfare, a conference on ending child poverty has heard.

On day four of End Child Poverty Week, organised by the Children’s Rights Alliance, a seminar heard speakers from across the sector emphasise the key role of the forthcoming budget in tackling child and generational poverty.

In a keynote address Prof Hugh Frazer of Maynooth University said success in ending child poverty would occur when “the income and resources for every child’s upbringing guarantee a standard of living which ensures that their social, emotional and physical wellbeing and development”.

This would also permit the child’s participation in the “normal activities and opportunities in the society in which they live,” he told the seminar.

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Prof Frazer went as far as to say the future of democracy depended on building more equal, inclusive and sustainable societies. He said “ending child poverty is key to this and ensuring an adequate income for all children is an essential element in achieving this goal”.

Prof Frazer said “we know what needs to be done, child poverty can be ended, it just requires political leadership and courage. We have waited long enough, the time to act decisively is now”.

The professor also said it was vital to keep listening to children, young people and parents/guardians experiencing poverty as these were the ones who really knew what interventions were necessary.

Sara Cid of the Irish Refugee Council presented new research on income inadequacy for children living in direct provision, pointing out that the “universal benefit” paid to parents or guardians for all children under the age of 16, is not paid for children in direct provision.

Instead, a daily expense allowance amounting to €29.80 per week was paid for children in direct provision, she said. But she said direct provision centres did not normally include things like toiletries, nappies and wipes. Paying for these things out of the allowance reduced the child’s opportunities for social and cultural experiences, and sometimes even for healthy food, she said. Direct provision centres also typically had little or no resources for children to run and play “and behave like children”. She said such children felt different from their peers and this caused restrictions on social and emotional development.

Ms Cid said where a parent in direct provision wanted to work they must first apply for permission, and this could take months. She also said direct provision centres were frequently located in rural areas where employment opportunities were scarce and harder to access, and on top of this, many asylum seekers had a language difficulty.

Seamus Boland of Irish Rural Link said school transport services were not available to those who lived within 3.2 kilometres form their school, even when the bus would pass the child’s home. He said it would be a simple move to scrap this restriction. He also called for “all schools” to be set up on the basis of Deis schools which tackle inequality and poverty in education.

Head of social justice and policy at St Vincent de Paul and chairwoman of the seminar Dr Tricia Keilthy said the Children’s Rights Alliance campaign said “it is really important that we claim our space for children in the budget”.

Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, said “Government has a huge opportunity in Budget 2024 to level the playing field for the children who have been consistently left behind, year after year. We are heartened to see and hear the focus on child poverty in pre-budget discussions, but a ‘Child Poverty Budget’ will not be possible without the inclusion and the investment in the targeted income supports that reach the children living with poverty every day,”