The chief executive of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC), Mr Paul Gilligan, has appealed to people not to give money to children begging on the streets. "All you are doing is reinforcing them. It keeps them on the street," he said.
He said people who came upon children begging should notify the gardaí or contact the ISPCC's Leanbh service (01-6794944) so the child would not be left on the street. Leanbh was set up in 1997 to address child-begging. Mr Gilligan recalled one woman who contacted Leanbh every time she saw children begging on Dublin's Halfpenny Bridge. Those children are no longer begging.
He was speaking in Dublin yesterday at the launch of the Leanbh annual report 2002/03. It said the sightings of children begging on Dublin's streets this year were up from 1,322 last year to 1,556 this year. However, for the first time since Leanbh was established, there was a significant drop in sightings of Traveller children begging. That was down 22 per cent to 855.
Roma children accounted for the increase in juvenile begging; 663 sightings of such children were made on the streets over the year. Mr Gilligan said this increase was reflective of growing Roma numbers begging on the streets with their infants.
He also said the drop in the number of Traveller children was due to "a growing awareness among this community of the dangers of begging and a growing commitment by many families to ensure their children do not beg. Many of these families are faced with great adversity on a daily basis and have engaged in begging over many generations. The effort and advancements these families are making in an attempt to 'do better' for their children is immense."
Of the 1,556 children seen begging this year, 518 were under four, 380 were between 13 and 15, 378 between eight and 12, 172 between 16 and 18, and 108 between five and seven.
Support worker Ms Suzanne McClean said poor family accommodation lay at the root of most begging by children. Poor washing facilities and dirty clothes led to bullying and dropping out from school, while a lack of play areas frequently led to the children heading for the streets.
Ms Adriana Bilc, a support worker who is herself Romanian, said that as a result of her work with Roma children, some could go to school. She taught them English so that they could attend.
Ms Grace Kelly, Leanbh director of services, praised the "huge support" the organisation received from gardaí, and in particular Chief Supt Bill Donoghue. Leanbh would not have had its level of success without that support, she said.