Northern Ireland is usually ignored in the national debate around childpoverty. Yet its children and families are hit hard by the province'slow wages, which are on average 20 per cent less than the rest of theUK. And costs of living in the province, for example the price of basicgoods, are higher than on the mainland.
As a result, 110,000 children - around one in four - live in incomepoverty and a further 60,000 also suffer deprivation.
In a recent series of seminars held across the province, disadvantagedchildren and families spoke out about the problem and how they want tosee it tackled.
Their comments, published in a report released last week, highlight theinequality and childhood stigma of poverty. Problems cited in The RealStory: Findings on family & child poverty in Northern Ireland rangedfrom not being able to afford the "right" clothes to the poorestfamilies not being able to eat three meals a day.
The root problem is that benefits are not stretching far enough, saidGorretti Horgan, chair of the Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network, whoproduced the report.
"Families made it very clear that they are not able to live on benefits.The cost of living is a lot higher here so what matters is the cost ofbasic goods."
Basic foodstuffs, for example, are 20 per cent higher than in Britain,points out Horgan.
Yet Northern Ireland's poor transport infrastructure and low number ofcar owners means families are not able to benefit from competitivepricing in supermarkets.
Lone parents also felt under pressure from the Government to return towork, presented as the way to lift their children out of poverty. Yetmany felt the benefits system discouraged it. Some pointed out that inthe Republic of Ireland, lone parents can earn 143 euro (97.86) aweek without benefits being affected. In Northern Ireland, the maximumis 15.
Benefits had to allow lone mothers to stay at home with children whilestill working a few hours a week, Horgan said.
FACT BOX
- Double the number of children in Northern Ireland lack new clothescompared to the British average
- Participants called for bursaries to enable children to take part inschool trips, free school dinners for all pupils and for benefit levelsto be raised universally
- There are 32,000 children in Northern Ireland in severe poverty -eight per cent of all children in the province.
