Poverty: children suffering

Poverty: children suffering

24 July 2013

OVER 3,500 children are living in poverty in Down District.

The surprising figures indicate severe pockets of deprivation in what is usually considered a reasonably affluent part of Northern Ireland.

While Belfast tops the list with 21,186 children living in poverty — almost half of these from the west of the city — Down’s 3,505 are out of proportion to its population.

With 69,731 people living in Down District, its closest population matches are Ards Borough Council (78,937) and Castlereagh (67,242) according to the 2011 census. However, Castlereagh has just 1,924 in child poverty and Ards 2,662.

Out of Northern Ireland’s 26 councils Down has the sixth highest levels of child poverty. Even more concerning in light of the upcoming council merger with Newry and Mourne is that 6,567 children live in child poverty in this part of Down. Newry and Mourne have the third highest levels after Belfast and Derry.

The figures were revealed this week in a new report by the Child Poverty Action Group which revealed the cost of dealing with child poverty across Northern Ireland had reached £1bn.

Despite unemployment rates in Down being roughly on a par with the rest of Northern Ireland, recently released economic figures also show the average weekly wage in Down District (£358.50) to be 22 per cent lower than the Northern Ireland average.

The head of Save the Children in Northern Ireland, Fergus Cooper, who lives in Down District, says this is just the one of the reasons child poverty has risen in Down.

“In the Down area we have had a lot of families in our district who have been double occupied, doing some part-time farming while employed in the construction trade,” he said. “Down has been particularly affected by the in the whole construction trade. There are certainly far fewer white vans to be seen.

“Also looking at the reorganisation of the public sector, there has been a net loss of jobs out of this area — the Housing Executive, Planning Office, a lot of the health jobs moving....there is less money being spent in the local economy.”

With many wages freezing over recent years, Mr. Cooper said: “For all families there has been a loss of real income, we have all been affected by the recession. With lower income families, however, it has a much bigger impact than on others.

“For children growing up in poverty it will affect their health, development, education and long term employment prospects.”

Mr. Cooper said organisations such as Save the Children had been highlighting the “unacceptable” problem of child poverty over the past two to three years and brought the problems experienced in rural areas to the attention of the First and Deputy First Ministers.

“Some pockets of really severe deprivation can be hidden among quite affluent districts,” he said. “There can be a masking of the problem.”