Press Releases

Published date: 17 Sep 2024

A third of people strongly agree that Government should increase targeted measures for children in low-income families instead of universal child benefit.

The Children’s Rights Alliance renew their calls for a Children’s Budget – one designed to break the cycle of poverty, in light of new research that shows overwhelming public support for targeted anti-poverty budget measures.

The research commissioned by the Children’s Rights Alliance and conducted by RED C, shows an overwhelming majority of the public support targeted measures that address some of the key drivers of child poverty.

Speaking in response to the findings, Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance said:

“We have heard a lot recently about the potential increase to the universal child benefit payment for all children, and even another ‘once-off’ double payment later in the year. However, what we can clearly see in this polling is that the majority of the public are in favour of a more targeted approach, with two-thirds in favour of increasing supports to children in low-income families instead of increasing the universal payment.

We know that one in five children experienced deprivation last year, meaning they are living in households unable to afford at least two of eleven items considered essential to meet the minimum standard of living – a warm winter coat, a new pair of school shoes, a dinner with meat/fish once a week. In a thriving economy, these families are focused on just surviving the next few days. These families need additional support to keep their head above water, and these results tell us the public recognise this and want resources directed towards helping them.”  

Targeted Supports for Children in Poverty

• One third of people strongly agree that government should increase social welfare support to children in low-income families instead of increasing the universal child benefit payment (62% agree – 32% strongly agree, 30% slightly agree)
• One third of people strongly agree that the government should increase social welfare supports for children in low-income families in Budget 2025 (76% agree –36% strongly agree, 40% slightly agree)
• 2 in 5 people strongly agree that Budget 2025 should increase investment to provide additional resources to early years (pre-school) services that support children in low-income families (81% agree – 41% strongly agree, 40% slightly agree)

“The truth is the continuation of ‘once-off’ and ‘top-up’ payments will not help the children and families most in need. It’s just not enough to support families experiencing multiple deprivations and very low incomes who are literally in the cold trying figure out how to stretch their income to cover the bare essentials,” said Tanya Ward.

The Children’s Rights Alliance is calling on Government to raise the Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC – a payment for children whose families are already in receipt of social welfare) by €6 a week for children under 12 and €15 a week for children over 12.

“In a giveaway budget, raising this targeted payment is not a tall ask. What we are calling for are supports that enable these families to keep milk in the fridge that week, to buy a packet of vests or a raincoat for the winter months or afford the pair of football boots so their teenager can play with his friends. Denying them this basic dignity for the sake of bonus payments for everyone leaves these children further behind and goes against the Government’s ambition of reducing child poverty.” 

Free School Books

• 7 in 10 people strongly agree that providing free school books is an effective way of alleviating the pressure of back-to-school costs for families (94% agree -70% strongly agree, 25% slightly agree)
• Two thirds of people strongly agree that school books should be free for all secondary school students (88% agree – 65% strongly, 23% slightly agree)

“The cost of education is clearly something that resonates with many families across the country. We have seen the household surveys that tell us parents are scrambling to get enough together for the return to school, even going into debt. Providing free school books is just one way for the Government to address these expenses but it is one the public support, with 94% agreeing they are an effective way to alleviate that financial pressure at the start of the year. However, not every student currently benefits from the Scheme as the Government stopping short at Junior Cycle in the rollout last year. Given that the cost of books for a fifth-year student is a staggering €213 on average, extending the Scheme to Senior Cycle can immediately put that money back in people’s pockets.”

Hot School Meals

• Two thirds of people strongly agree that all primary school children should have access to a free hot school meal every day (89% agree – 65% strongly agree, 24% slightly agree)
• More than half of people strongly agree all secondary school children should have access to a hot school meal every day (85% agree- 58% strongly agree, 27% slightly agree)
• 2 in 5 people strongly agree that free hot school meals should be made available during school holidays for children in low-income families (71% agree- 43% strongly agree, 28% slightly agree)

“What is clear in these results is that the public know and understand the importance of the hot school meals programme and support the continued rollout so that every child at primary and secondary level can benefit. This should give Government the confidence to press ahead firmly with their intention to expand the programme to reach every child by 2030 with further investment in Budget 2025. We are particularly interested in the public’s desire (43% strongly agreeing) to see free hot school meals made available during holiday periods. We know that for children in families who are living on the breadline, the programme may be the only hot meal they get that day. When schools close and access to this programme stops, families are left desperately seeking support to put food on the table. The public support should give the Government confidence to act on their own ambition to see this gap bridged as early as next Summer,” continued Tanya Ward.

The Children’s Rights Alliance is also calling for Budget 2025 to:

• Expand the Free School Book Scheme to Senior Cycle
• Expand the Hot School Meal Programme and a invest €1 million in a pilot initiative to address the issue of ‘holiday hunger’
• Invest €50 million in the Equal Start Model to support access and participation in early learning and care and school-age childcare for children who experience disadvantage

“We know that if we are serious about ending child poverty and supporting children and young people who are consistently experiencing the highest levels of deprivation, we need a blend of universal and targeted measures. The groundswell of public support for this approach is clear. The majority want to see a Budget that delivers for children and young people but importantly, goes the extra mile for the families who need additional support. We urge the Government to stop the kite-flying and focus our resources on measures that do just that,” concluded Tanya Ward.

 

_ENDS_

Contact:

For media queries please contact,
Robyn Keleghan: [email protected]  / M + 353 85 800 1275

Notes to Editors:

• Children’s Rights Alliance spokespeople are available for media interviews; other speakers available upon request.
• RED C Report is available here.
• The Children’s Rights Alliance Pre-Budget Submission (August 2024) is available here.
• Barnardos Back to School Survey 2024 is available here.

• End Child Poverty Week is supported by Community Foundation Ireland, The Fidelis Foundation and the Katharine Howard Foundation. The week-long series of events focuses on five thematic areas of child poverty, the root causes and the best practice solutions needed to break the cycle of poverty for children and young people. Details and recordings of the events during the week are available here.

• Research was conducted using RED C’s online omnibus, the RED Line. Quota controls are used to ensure a nationally representative sample of ROI adults aged 18+, with interlocking quotas to provide extra confidence in sample profile. Data was weighted across gender, age, region and social class so as to ensure a nationally representative sample based on latest CSO projections. A nationally representative sample of n=1,006 adults aged 18+ was completed.  Fieldwork took place from the 16th – 21st August 2024