90,000 children living in poverty

UP TO 90,000 children are still living in poverty because the Government has failed to adequately increase child benefit payments or provide medical cards, it was claimed yesterday.

The Government promised to increase child benefit by 32 a month and give 200,000 people on low incomes a medical card before the general election, Children's Rights Alliance chief executive Raymond Dooley said.

But the Government has failed to deliver on the extra medical cards and only raised child benefit by 8 a month in the last Budget, Mr Dooley said.