A United Nations report has shown that the rate of child poverty in Ireland is among the highest in wealthy countries.
According to new Unicef figures 15.7 per cent of Irish children live in poverty, something it defines as children living in households with an income below 50 per cent of the national median.
Among the 24 rich industrialised nations that were examined, the percentage of child poverty is higher only in New Zealand (16.3 per cent), Italy (16.6 per cent), the US (21.9 per cent) and Mexico (27.7 per cent).
The report "challenges any complacency" about the rates of poverty and the belief "that a rising economic tide will solve all problems of social inclusion", said Hugh Frazer, a European Commission official and former head of the Combat Poverty Agency in Ireland.
Commenting specifically on the results for this country, Mr Frazer said "you get what you pay for . . . we got what we deserved in terms of our policies".
The UN report shows that Ireland reduced its share of social spending - the proportion of GDP devoted to government social transfers - by 5 percentage points between 1990 and 2000; in the same period the child poverty rates rose by 2.4 percentage points.
However, Mr Frazer says there has been a shift in recent years, evidenced by the last two government budgets. The budgets prior to that "further increased income disparities" between the very rich and the very poor.
He also noted that factors other than income measures, such as access to housing, health care and education, should be taken into account, as well.
The Republic is not alone in its child poverty rates. The figures show that for 17 of the 26 OECD countries, figures for child poverty are on the rise and its long-term consequences show strong negative effects on society.
"There is a strong statistical correlation between poverty in childhood and a variety of very well documented problems in later life. The likelihood of poor health, of educational underachievement, of dropping out of school early and of long-term welfare dependence", said Peter Adamson of Unicef.
Marta Santos Pais, director of the Unicef research centre, said the figures are "dramatic and difficult to understand".
She said "governments have the capacity to reduce child poverty when they invest in social spending in a sustained manner" - this is the case for Denmark (2.4 per cent), Finland (2.8 per cent) and Norway (3.4 per cent) - the three countries with the lowest child poverty rates.
Britain has been singled out as a case in point. Although it has a high rate of child poverty (15.4 per cent), it has made the issue a political priority which means, says the report, that its first target of a 25 per cent reduction by 2004/5 is likely to be met.
A UN expert said it was time to cut the distinction between poverty in developing and industrialised countries particularly as the report clearly spells out the "the poverty in our own back yards".
