If resources were not made available for children by the next government we would be paying the price for generations, the director of the children's charity, Barnardos, has warned. Mr Owen Keenan said he was very disappointed with the election campaign. "If they can be very specific about what the tax rate will be, why can't they be specific on their proposals for children?"
While the Irish economy was booming, it had the second worst record in Europe for the proportion of children living in poverty.