GOOD NEWS is always a welcome visitor. And in these gloomy days, with families under pressure because of the economic recession and job losses, a positive report on "the state of the nation's children" lifts the heart and offers hope for the future. Children are our most precious and, at the same time, most vulnerable asset. They represent so much creative potential that the notion of neglecting or squandering that reservoir of talent is offensive. And yet we fail to provide for many of them, to encourage them to reach their potential. Others fall victim to social neglect and worse.
This report, conducted in association with the Central Statistics Office and the Health Promotion Research Centre at UCG by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, contains many positive findings. It also details shortcomings in State services and funding and other worrying statistics. As might be expected, the Minister of State involved, Barry Andrews, has concentrated on the positives in his official response. And there are a significant number of achievements.
A substantial decrease in the number of babies and children who die each year is something to cheer about, as is the rise in the percentage of parents having their children inoculated. An increasing number of mothers now breastfeed their babies. There is a slightly lower level of bullying in Irish schools than elsewhere. And, in spite of a growing threat of obesity in the developing world, Irish children were found to engage in the greatest amount of physical activity of any country. They were ranked fifth in terms of reading literacy from the 29 countries surveyed and turned in average performances in relation to maths and science. Spending on education from 1996 to 2005 declined marginally as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product but, in real terms and on the basis of student numbers in primary schools, it has doubled.
Children under 18 years of age make up one-quarter of our population, the highest proportion within the EU. And while Ireland may have been ranked as one of the richest countries in Europe when this survey was conducted in 2006, this was not reflected in the number of children living in consistent poverty. One in three children of lone parents had to do without necessary food, clothing and heating. And 22,000 families were in need of social housing. One in 12 children smoked every day; one-in-five reported they had been drunk at least once in the previous month and one-in-four had used cannabis. The greatest number of cases referred to the Garda juvenile programme involved alcohol. More than 400 children were homeless.
These distressing findings should be regarded as a challenge. In response, the Government has undertaken to provide a range of health, educational and family support services to particularly distressed communities. It would be a great mistake if, even at this time of tight finances, that funding was withdrawn. Opportunity, education and job creation are the surest way of reducing low-level criminality, while encouraging community development.