22% of children in North Antrim and East Londonderry constituencies living in poverty, report finds
A new study has shown that 22% of children in the North Antrim and East Londonderry electoral constituencies are living in poverty – that’s above the Northern Ireland average.
The latest Poverty in Northern Ireland report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has found that the number of children growing up in poverty remains unacceptably high.
Meanwhile, new polling shows the public believe the Northern Ireland Executive isn’t doing enough to address it. JRF has called on the Executive to invest in children’s futures by making tackling child poverty a first-order priority.
JRF’s latest analysis of poverty rates in Northern Ireland finds that:
Nearly 1 in 5 children are growing up in poverty (19%) – that’s 90,000 children living in families who are struggling to make ends meet.
Over the last 20 years there has been little change in the proportion of children growing up in poverty, the report stated.
Almost 7 in 10 (68%) of children in poverty live in households where someone works. Almost a third of children growing up in poverty are living in deep poverty (31%), putting them further away from the poverty line and more at risk of going without even basic essentials.
13% of children in Northern Ireland are living in persistent poverty. Persistent poverty, where children have spent at least three out of the last four years living in poverty, suggests that the systems that should protect families from becoming trapped in poverty aren’t working as they should.
Ursula O’Hare, Head of Northern Ireland at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “Too much of the hardship we see in Northern Ireland is falling on our children, with child poverty rates remaining unacceptably high over the past two decades. For children growing up in poverty the impacts can be life-long, affecting their health, wellbeing, education and life chances.
“Politicians in the Executive face a choice about the years ahead. Collective political ambition is needed to drive down child poverty. We must do everything we can to ensure children born in Northern Ireland today reach adulthood having had the best start in life possible. The public understand the severity of the issue and that not enough is being done to address it. It’s now up to the Executive to make it a key priority.”