More families driven into poverty

A GROWING number of Irish families are being pushed into poverty due to an overdependence on benefits and the excessive cost of childcare, a major international report has found.

Doing Better for Families — the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) first report on family wellbeing — also expresses concern that austerity packages introduced in response to the global and domestic financial and banking crisis will almost certainly see worsening levels of poverty among families.

The report warns, in particular, that childcare costs, which can account for more than 40% of a family budget, compared to lows of 20% in other countries, are acting as a “major barrier” to employment in Ireland, particularly for low-income single parents.