Government ‘continues to ignore children trapped in poverty’

THE Government is continuing to ignore children trapped in poverty or affected by alcohol abuse, a leading children’s charity said yesterday.

In a hard-hitting statement Barnardos criticised the failure of Government policies to change the lives of children at risk. Chief executive Owen Keenan said: "children can't wait and Ireland as a society and this Government has not gone anywhere near what could be achieved to make things better for children and families. I don't think we honestly can say that all children matter in Ireland today."

Barnardos works with 12,000 children and families each year, and every day its workers see parents struggle to give their children hope and a future despite dire poverty, disability and ill health, said Mr Keenan.