Stormont urged to tackle poverty as report says one in four children affected

The Stormont Executive has been pressed to urgently tackle child poverty, which is impacting one in four children in the region.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said some 330,000 (17%) of people in Northern Ireland live in poverty, and that one in four children are growing up in poverty.

The charity also found in its Poverty in Northern Ireland report that 64% of children in poverty live in households where someone works, 45% of workers in NI have experienced low pay in the last five years, 46% of adults hold less than £1,500 in savings and three in 10 private renters are living in poverty.

The report finds that barriers to work, such as affordable and accessible childcare in Northern Ireland, continue to make it hard for many parents to increase their working hours.

Meanwhile, housing costs are on the up, with the number of people living in the private rented sector having more than doubled to around 320,000, and the number of poverty in this group having increased by 60%, reaching almost 100,000.

The charity said the Executive must “pick up the pace and tackle child poverty” before Assembly elections in 18 months’ time.

It is calling for the Executive’s Anti-Poverty Strategy to include clear poverty reduction targets that meet the scale of the challenge.

It added that its modelling indicates that a targeted child payment would deliver the most immediate and effective impact, benefiting approximately 150,000 children and providing families in the lowest income third with an average gain of almost £2,800 a year.

Ursula O’Hare, JRF’s head of Northern Ireland, said progress that was being made pre-pandemic in tackling poverty has since stalled.

“330,000 people, or 17% of the population, still live in poverty and, for children, the level of poverty is stuck even higher at 24%,” she said.

“Children bear the brunt of poverty in Northern Ireland, which is stuck at far too high a level.

“Time is running out for us to invest in making sure every child has a decent start in life.”

“That’s why today – 18 months out from the next Assembly election – we’re looking for co-ordinated and ambitious action that will drive change.”