Cost-of-living crisis hits children as numbers in poverty rise

Just under 181,000 children were at risk of poverty in Ireland in 2022.

Children’s Rights Alliance (CRA) CEO Tanya Ward has hit out at grocery retailers, saying they have got away with “massive profits” amid rising poverty among children.

Ms Ward described supermarket prices as a “scandal” which is having significant impacts on families already struggling due to social welfare increases not keeping pace with inflation.

It comes as the CRA’s Child Poverty Monitor 2023 shows 236,910 children were experiencing poverty in Ireland in 2022, an increase of 34,525 on the previous year.

The CRA also noted that almost 3,600 children have had their world “turned upside-down” due to homelessness, while 89,288 children were living in consistent poverty — 27,382 more than in 2021.

Just under 181,000 children were at risk of poverty in 2022.

“The person supplying the goods isn’t making the money but the supermarkets have managed to make massive profits and really cream on it and it’s ordinary people that are really struggling and suffering,” she said.

Ms Ward called for more retailers to make a “real effort” to bring prices of basics and staples down. “They’ve managed to get away with it now for this long," she said.

Ms Ward said the last budget was a missed opportunity as the weekly payments for children in families depending on social welfare increased by just €2 for those covered by the qualified child increase.

Rutland National School pupils at the launch of the Children's Rights Alliance's Child Poverty Monitor 2023. Picture: Julien Behal

“If you're dealing with an extra 40c on a block of butter and you multiply that by 20 because the 20 products in your basket have all increased as well, it just wasn't enough for those kinds of families,” she said.

Ms Ward said the number of children in poverty is more than the entire population of Kilkenny and Waterford combined, “for whom poverty is seeping into every aspect of their life”.

Almost 237,000 children who live “narrow” lives might go to bed hungry several times a week, or go without needed new runners or new clothes, Ms Ward said.

“These are not families that can take their kids to the cinema or the zoo. This is not the kid that is able to go to a birthday party or can buy the present.

We know when families are living through this kind of deprivation it's very stressful on the parents because they're making horrible choices between either putting food on the table or paying the energy bill.

Ms Ward said families are hiding their struggles, noting that parents are going without food in order to make sure their children are fed, while the long-term impacts on children can be life-changing.

Rutland National School pupils Mila and Finn hold messages for the Government, with Children's Rights Alliance CEO Tanya Ward.

“When children live through this over a long period of time, that really does affect them emotionally. So they're more likely to have poor mental health and wellbeing and actually have a poor self-concept,” she said.

Ms Ward said children who experience poverty tend to not be hopeful about the future and don’t see their potential as a result.

“They won't see that there are all of these other things that are open to them. They actually start lowering their aspirations,” she said.

Deep anxiety

Figures also released yesterday by An Post Money highlighted “deep anxiety” which has worsened since January due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Almost nine in 10 (87%) respondents had financial concerns for the year ahead, while 63% are worried about grocery bills, up from 57% in January. Close to one in five (18%) say this is now their main financial concern.

More than one in five (21%) noted rent or mortgage payments as their main financial concern, with 45% being worried about the costs of accommodation.

Home heating and energy bills represent the largest financial concern, causing 65% of respondents to worry, up from 60% in January 2023.

It comes as the CSO recorded annual inflation at 6.6%, with the cost of food having risen by 12.7% in the 12 months leading up to May 2023.

Although the pace is slowing, May was the 20th month in a row since October 2021 where inflation has been at least 5% .

The Consumer Price Index, which measures the change in the average level of prices of consumer goods, shows significant increases in the cost of household staples.

Tesco announced that more than 700 essential products will see an average of 10% in price reductions, but competitor Aldi has already ruled out price reductions, saying its prices are “already lower on comparable products”.