By Paul McGill from NICVA
Published on 17 Jun 2008
The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) is delighted that the OFMDFM committee has spent a lot of time studying the dreadful problem of child poverty in Northern Ireland.
It is a crisis that is getting rapidly worse. In the first quarter of 2008, the number of people unemployed rose for the first time since 1993. There were 13,000 more people out of work than there were a year ago.
At the same time, people on low incomes are being squeezed and increasing numbers of children, adults and older people are falling into poverty.
“In this context we welcome the committee’s call for a properly resourced, robust anti-poverty plan,” said NICVA chief executive Seamus McAleavey. “Our big worry is that the Assembly has already passed resolutions on poverty but the Executive has not acted on them. The Budget, for example, had no funding to tackle the growing crisis.
“The Executive must act urgently on this report and draw up plans under which all government departments and agencies will tackle child poverty."
The OFMDFM report makes useful recommendations about benefits and tax credits. But it had very little to say about pay rates even though almost half of all Northern Ireland children living in poverty have one or more parent in work.
NICVA believes we must confront the issue of how much people earn in work.
The simple fact is that the well off have a huge slice of the wages cake and it is growing bigger every year. The low paid are struggling with tiny pay rises to meet huge increases in food and fuel.
In 1990, for example, the highest earners received £300 per week more than the lowest paid but by 2007 the gap had risen to £600.
"The Northern Ireland Executive needs to be different and radical and draw up a plan to fight poverty that fits the needs of Northern Ireland eg providing good-quality and affordable childcare and benefit take-up campaigns,” Mr McAleavey added.
He was commenting on the Final Report on the Committee’s Inquiry into Child Poverty in Northern Ireland, prepared by the Committee for the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. It was debated by the full Assembly today.
NICVA has been campaigning for many years for an effective anti-poverty strategy in Northern Ireland. Many of its member organisations are actively involved in research and lobbying on child poverty.
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