There has been an 8% drop in the number of families in emergency accommodation.

Barnardos has said it is distressing that child poverty rates remain “stubbornly high” at a time when Ireland’s economy continues to thrive.

A report has put Ireland at the bottom when it comes to the amount spent on pre-primary education.

Latest: The government needs to invest at least €54m each year for the next five years to clear hospital waiting lists, according to Barnardos.

Latest: The Housing Minister has said any one family in emergency accommodation is a family too many.

The Government has come under renewed pressure to bring in radical measures to tackle the housing crisis after the number of homeless burst past the 8,000 mark in July.

Children leaving state care at the age of 18 are now entitled to an after-care plan as they enter adulthood.

The Government is being warned the homelessness crisis is showing no sign of abating.

Nearly half of all parents cut back on daily household essentials to cover school costs.

It is hoped that a bill to allow children to be adopted by their foster parents will be passed in the Dáil today.

Some 30% of Irish parents go into debt to cover secondary school costs, a new survey has found.

Leo Varadkar has announced a 25% increase in the Back To School Allowance in one of his last actions as Social Protection Minister.

Barnardos is calling for more medical staff to tackle growing waiting lists for children's healthcare.

The annual congress of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation heard how teachers are being lured abroad with attractive packages and parents are acting as cleaners to save costs. Joyce Fegan reports 

If the 130,000 children who live in dire poverty were as visible as patients on hospital trollies, Ireland might wake up to this ‘silent crisis’, says the CEO of Barnardos.

The Government needs to end child poverty by investing in services, not cutting taxes, according to Barnardos.

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The Government has been forced to defend proposals linking child benefit to school attendance after charities and politicians reacted angrily to the plans.

Removing the barriers which are currently stopping thousands of children with a disability from accessing early years care and education was one of the more progressive announcements in Budget 2016.

A leading children’s charity has used the popular game of snakes and ladders to show the devastating effects of the rise in child inequality.

A record number of children were referred to Tusla’s child protection and welfare services last year, even as the Child and Family Agency struggled with a €5.1m budget deficit.

Barnardos said it wants to see the Government step up to the plate in Budget 2016.

This week the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights published its concluding observations on Ireland, finding the Government is failing to deliver on human rights obligations.

A survey by Kellogs claims a fifth of adults in Ireland worry over their food budget and half of teachers surveyed see children arriving to school hungry.

Barnardos has said there is an “urgent need” for more investment in mental health and social work supports for vulnerable children after a new report indicated some children in care were not receiving the services they need.

Parents are being forced to make “heart-breaking” decisions to leave their children in care because they are unable to secure appropriate accommodation, a leading children’s charity has said.

Barnardos is again warning the Government against cutting the top tax rates in next week's Budget.

Government officials risk causing 20 more years of needless deaths in Ireland’s State care services unless they fully implement detailed plans to revamp the sector’s aftercare system.

The publishers of school books have demanded a change in government policy on Vat on e-textbooks and said they were doing all they could to limit the costs borne by parents.

The rate of child benefit will be standardised and the back to school allowance is being cut from €305 to €250 and from €200 to €150 in the Budget cuts announced by Brendan Howlin today.

Ireland’s leading children’s charity today branded the latest social partnership agreement a missed opportunity.

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed has called for more effective re-training of workers who lose their jobs.

The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed has said the increase in the Live Register announced today disproves claims that Ireland has full employment.

There are nearly 100 economic blackspots across the country with unemployment levels which are four times higher than the national average, it was claimed today.

The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed has warned the Government that it is not worthwhile for some unemployed people to seek work.

AN organisation representing the unemployed has criticised the Government for failing to stem a worrying rise in job losses in the Cork region.

The Central Statistics Office has reported a rise of 1,500 in the number of people unemployed during the first three months of this year.