Concern over child poverty targets

Government targets to reduce child poverty would in fact increase relative poverty among children, a leading economist has said.

Mr John Sweeney, secretariat of the National Economic and Social Council, said last year's National Anti Poverty Strategy had set a target of bringing the income of children in the poorest families to between 33 per cent and 35 per cent of the lowest social welfare rate.

"But since the last Budget, Child Dependent Allowance and Child Benefit combined runs at between 37 per cent and 42 per cent of the lowest social welfare payment. If the NAPS targets were rigorously enforced, the relative position of the poorest children is not going to improve, but will disimprove," he said.

The targets were redundant, he said, and a redesign is needed of the way payments targeted poorer children and more resources, through higher taxes.

Mr Sweeney, speaking at the publication of the End Child Poverty Coalition's pre-budget submission yesterday, said poverty in childhood had a "real brain-drain effect" on the cognitive development of a child caused by "stress, hardship and strain".

Criminologists could track a person's criminal career back to an impoverished childhood, while economists could trace the social skills that were valued in the market place back to early childhood, he said. "This is a serious issue for everyone. I am speaking to the converted here, but where are the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment? Where are IBEC?"

Some 6.5 per cent of children are said to be in consistent poverty, which means going without such basics as a warm coat and a hot meal every day, while 23 per cent of children are said to be in relative poverty, i.e. living on incomes less than 50 per cent of the average industrial wage.

Mr Sweeney said policy should stop regarding Child Benefit as the way to tackle child poverty.

Every child in the State is entitled to Child Benefit (CB) of €125.60 per month, while about 350,000 children of the poorest families in the State are entitled to Child Dependent Allowance (CDA) of between €16.80 and €19.30 per week.

However, he continued, the richest 30 per cent of households received more Child Benefit than the poorest 30 per cent, while the policy of 'freezing' CDA since 1994 had "significantly reduced the net value to the poorest families of the rise in CB".