Bye, bye holiday hunger, hello hefty bills: Life for Ireland's poor

For thousands of parents, back to school is a welcome relief, as it means a daily meal for their children, but have we allowed child poverty to become acceptable? Niamh Griffin reports

New ESRI findings show 250,000 young children and their parents live below the poverty line.

Back to school hits differently when your bank account is near-empty — it is less about sending the little monkeys out of the house and more about seeing them get regular meals again.

Have we reached an acceptable level of poverty where programmes such as hot meals in schools tinker around the edges of the crisis but still leave families disempowered and struggling?