Poverty free Ireland challenge to EU presidency

BY ROBBIE SMYTH

If you live in Ireland today and are low paid, a lone parent, disabled or retired, or if you are a child living in a family with any of these groups, you are more than likely to be enduring some form of poverty and deprivation.

The Combat Poverty Agency (CPA) published their annual report this week and challenged the coalition to use the EU presidency as "a unique opportunity" to tackle poverty. Launching the report, CPA director Helen Johnson said: "Tackling child and family poverty must be given the highest priority."

"A poverty free society" is the CPA objective, with Johnson calling on the government to put in place the policies to realise that vision.

The CPA report shows that 71,000 26-County families are living on less than €172 per adult per week, with nearly one quarter of all under-18-year-olds living in low income families. 8% of children are at risk to dire poverty where they do not have basic necessities such as food, clothes and heating.

Relative poverty, defined as having less than 50% of the average industrial wage, now accounts for 22% of the population. The estimated number of homeless households is 3,773 in 2002 compared with 3,742 in 1997, the year when Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats entered office.

One study highlighted in the Combat Poverty report shows how poverty affected 30 families living on an average of €124 a week. The families came from urban and rural areas. Almost all of these families' money was spent on "food, household bills and their children's basic needs". Borrowing and dept was widespread in the group. One in three households had children in poor health.

The communities these families lived in played a significant role in how they dealt with poverty. Their local environment was "often a negative aspect of their lives. Many adults felt bullied or picked upon".

The experience of children was not much better. The report found that "a quarter of the children admitted that they had been bullied at school - often because they did not have brand name clothes or runners".

Combat Poverty are calling not just for higher welfare payments but a comprehensive package of measures, including fulfilling the government's broken commitment to raise child benefit to €34.50 a week.

The CPA also wants the school meal/breakfast scheme extended, universal access to affordable childcare, 10,000 pre-school places for disadvantaged children. On housing, the CPA proposes the government commits itself to eliminating homelessness by 2007.