Child Poverty
Scroll below to find out more about child poverty.
Scroll below to find out more about child poverty.
Poverty – the factsThere are 444,000 children in Northern Ireland 103,400 of these children live in poverty – this figure is likely to rise with the implementation of Universal Credit.
The majority (61%) live in households with at least one parent who is working.
That is almost 1 in every 4 children in Northern Ireland living in a family which struggles to provide for their basic needs, providing a warm, adequate home, nutritious food, appropriate clothing and pay for childcare costs. Children whose parents often have to get into debt to pay to make ends meet and do not have the means to save money for unexpected costs or family outings.
Children in poverty are twice as likely to leave school without 5 good GCSEs. They are also more likely to suffer poor mental health and have fewer years of good physical health.
Child poverty is not inevitable. It is important to recognise the success of government policy in reducing pensioner poverty. If Government create and put the right policies in place, child poverty can be eradicated.
You can view the full infographics here
Its not just NICCY who think it is time Government takes action to tackle child poverty. Many organisations across Northern Ireland work to help families on low incomes, and to advocate for change.