The latest report on child poverty in Ireland from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) will not come as a surprise to anyone familiar the issue. But it deserves careful consideration by the Government as it embarks on its pre-budget discussions. The ESRI notes that the importance of tackling child poverty, which research shows has deeply negative consequences, including lower education, earnings, health and wellbeing in adulthood, as well as immediate and highly detrimental effects on the experience of childhood itself.
Children disproportionately suffer poverty in Ireland, more than any other age cohort. The new research examines how effective current child-related benefits are at reducing child poverty. It finds that, taken together, in-cash and in-kind benefits lift 157,000 children out of income poverty, with 45,000 lifted out of material deprivation and 94,000 out of consistent poverty – defined as living in a household with a disposable income less than 60 per cent of median national income. It considers the merits of introducing an additional second tier of child benefit, while noting that such a policy would need to be designed carefully to ensure that no household loses out as a result. And it recommends that recent measures such as the introduction of free school meals and free school books should be fully integrated into future reports to give a more complete picture.
With Government Ministers currently dampening expectations of any more universal one-off payments, the question of child poverty becomes even more acute: households at the lowest income levels are most vulnerable to cost-of-living pressures. They will continue to require support if they are not to suffer material deprivation and its consequences, including hunger.
The ESRI concludes that, of all the policy options available, a second, means-tested child benefit payment would be the most cost-effective way to achieve substantial reductions in the rate of child poverty.
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If now is not the time to heed this advice, then when?
