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02/08/2002
Child poverty levels 'absolutely outrageous'
Save the Children has described as "absolutely outrageous" the findings of their report indicating child poverty had risen, and now afflicts almost half of Northern Ireland's children.
Entitled 'Poverty is…', the report details the increase in child poverty, with the organisation claiming that 32% of children live in households whose only income derives from benefits. A further 18% of children live in households that claim Working Family Tax Credit. This is an increase on the 1995 figure which revealed that one third of children were in danger of, or were living in, poverty.
The charity has called for action by decision-makers to turn around the current "appalling poverty levels".
Goretti Horgan, Researcher at Save the Children, said: "In 1995, we created shockwaves when we revealed that 1-in-3 children in Northern Ireland lived in poverty. It is absolutely outrageous that seven years on, the statistics are worse."
The grave threat such living conditions pose means that children from poor households are four more times more likely to die before the age of 20 than their peers. More shocking is the revelation that in Traveller families a child is 10 times more likely to die before the age of 10 than a child from the settled community. In view of the worsening conditions, Save the Children pledged to "make sure that the facts are known" in government.
Ms Horgan added: "It is not enough to be shocked and saddened by the statistics but we must work quickly to make sure that decisions are made to ensure that this appalling level of poverty does not continue and that all children in Northern Ireland have equal opportunity to health, education and hope for the future."
The report is part of the Beat Poverty Campaign, which is aimed to raise awareness of and fight child poverty around the world. Further details of this can be found on www.beatpoverty.org
(GMcG)
Entitled 'Poverty is…', the report details the increase in child poverty, with the organisation claiming that 32% of children live in households whose only income derives from benefits. A further 18% of children live in households that claim Working Family Tax Credit. This is an increase on the 1995 figure which revealed that one third of children were in danger of, or were living in, poverty.
The charity has called for action by decision-makers to turn around the current "appalling poverty levels".
Goretti Horgan, Researcher at Save the Children, said: "In 1995, we created shockwaves when we revealed that 1-in-3 children in Northern Ireland lived in poverty. It is absolutely outrageous that seven years on, the statistics are worse."
The grave threat such living conditions pose means that children from poor households are four more times more likely to die before the age of 20 than their peers. More shocking is the revelation that in Traveller families a child is 10 times more likely to die before the age of 10 than a child from the settled community. In view of the worsening conditions, Save the Children pledged to "make sure that the facts are known" in government.
Ms Horgan added: "It is not enough to be shocked and saddened by the statistics but we must work quickly to make sure that decisions are made to ensure that this appalling level of poverty does not continue and that all children in Northern Ireland have equal opportunity to health, education and hope for the future."
The report is part of the Beat Poverty Campaign, which is aimed to raise awareness of and fight child poverty around the world. Further details of this can be found on www.beatpoverty.org
(GMcG)
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