IRELAND IS one of the better countries in Europe in which to be a child, according to a new study of young people’s wellbeing.
Research compiled by York University for the UK-based Child Poverty Action Group shows that Ireland ranked ninth out of 29 countries on child wellbeing.
Northern European countries dominated the top of the league table, with child wellbeing at its highest in The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Iceland.
The UK fared much worse, in 24th place, above Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta.
Most of the data used in the report dates from 2006 and is based on 43 separate indicators across seven categories: health, how children rate their own lives, relationships, material wellbeing, risk-taking behaviour, education, and housing and environment.
Ireland’s best scores were in categories such as housing (2nd) and education (5th), but it languished towards the bottom of the table on material wellbeing (20th).
This category was measured on indicators such as relative income poverty (the percentage of children living in homes with incomes 50 per cent below the national median), households without jobs, and lack of educational possessions such as school books.
The Government has criticised the relative income poverty measure, saying many of those below the relative poverty line enjoy a higher standard of living than in the past. Researchers and anti-poverty campaigners defend it, saying other measures fail to acknowledge that poverty lies in the contrast between the lives of the poor and those around them.
Overall, the positive performance reflects the findings of a 2007 Unicef study which ranked Ireland 12th out of 21 industrialised countries for child wellbeing.
In that study, Ireland fared best in areas of education, relationships with family and friends and how children rate their own lives. It fared much worse in areas such as deprivation and health. A UN official said at the time the report showed children’s basic needs were generally met in rich countries, but there was scope for further progress in child wellbeing.
It found the UK lagged behind on measures of poverty and deprivation, health and safety, relationships, risk-taking and wellbeing.