Finlay: Number of children in consistent poverty equals population of Mayo

The Children's Rights Alliance has handed the Government a 'fail' mark on their latest report card for child poverty.

Officials say that since the economic bubble burst, the number of young people in consistent poverty has doubled.

The coalition has been given a 'C' grade for its overall performance in terms of key commitments to children, with the Government said to have done well in areas like literacy and school building.

However the area of poverty has been branded a "shameful failure".

Fergus Finlay from Barnardos has been putting the number of deprived children in context, ahead of the publication of the full Children's Rights Alliance report card later this morning.

Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast he said the number of young people in consistent poverty "is now equal, roughly, to the entire population of Co Mayo. It's 130,000 children.

"We have far too many children who are going hungry, who are not protected against cold weather, who don't have anything like sufficient access to education and health choices."

You can read the full report here.