Children in large families, in lone parent households, and in households where someone has a disability face a higher risk of income poverty and deprivation in both Ireland and Northern Ireland

The report was commissioned under the joint research partnership of the Shared Island Unit in the Department of the Taoiseach and the Economic and Social Research Institute on The Economic and Social Opportunities from Increased Cooperation on the Shared Island. The programme produces research outputs which add to understanding of current and potential linkages across the island of Ireland in a range of economic, social and environmental domains. 

A new study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), published today as part of the Institute’s joint research programme with the Department of the Taoiseach’s Shared Island Unit, compares child poverty and related factors and policy measures in Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

The report uses two measures of poverty: income poverty, which means having a household disposable income that is less than 60 per cent of median income; and, material deprivation, which occurs when families are unable to afford at least two of five basic essentials like paying their bills on time or keeping their home warm.

Over the period 2004 to 2023, child income poverty declined quite consistently in Ireland while rates fluctuated more in Northern Ireland. Throughout the period income poverty rates remained higher in Northern Ireland finishing at about 21 per cent on average in 2021-2023 compared to around 14 per cent in Ireland. 

However, Ireland and Northern Ireland show a much more similar trend in child material deprivation, which follows the pattern of economic boom and recession that characterised much of the period. Throughout 2010-2023, child material deprivation rates were higher in Ireland than Northern Ireland, however, in 2022-2023, deprivation in Northern Ireland rose to the same level as that in Ireland, to stand at 24 per cent in both jurisdictions.  

The contrasting comparison for child income poverty and child material deprivation levels North and South, suggests that families on low incomes in Ireland have been less able to convert household income into an adequate standard of living  compared with families at the same position in the income distribution in Northern Ireland. This could be attributable to a higher cost of living in Ireland.

Some of the key findings include: 

Vulnerable Groups: 

• Children living in lone-parent households, larger families, and households with a disabled member face significantly higher risks of poverty in both jurisdictions. Other groups at higher risk identified by stakeholders were children leaving care, children from the Traveller and Roma communities and those from families seeking asylum. 

Labour Market Factors:

• Household joblessness is a bigger risk factor for child poverty in Ireland than in Northern Ireland.  In Northern Ireland, children in jobless households have a 10 percentage points higher risk of being income poor compared to those in households with at least one employed adult. In Ireland, children in jobless households are 27 percentage points more likely to be income poor than children in working households.

Educational Impact:

• Low education levels of the household head, significantly increase the risk of child poverty and material deprivation in both jurisdictions. However, there are more children in Northern Ireland living in such households.   

Policy Implications:

1. Welfare and Income Support:
   • While the welfare systems in Ireland and Northern Ireland are broadly similar, Ireland offers higher child benefit levels, but Northern Ireland provides broader access to means-tested benefits.
   • Stakeholders in Northern Ireland identified the two-child limit in UK welfare policy as a major driver of child poverty. Mitigation measures designed to offset the Benefit Cap in Northern Ireland were identified as being crucial to preventing further poverty.
   • In Ireland, the reliance on temporary cost-of-living measures was seen as less effective than sustained increases in social welfare payments linked to inflation.
2. Education and Early Years Support:
   • Northern Ireland’s long-standing provision of free school meals to children in low-income households was recognised as an important direct support, with calls from stakeholders to expand these benefits during holiday periods and make them universal.
   • Stakeholders in Ireland welcomed the recent expansion of similar supports.
3. Employment and Education:
   • Policies supporting access to education, training, and childcare are critical in both jurisdictions to improve parental access to employment and to address risks of low-wage work, particularly for lone parents and disabled individuals

Author of the report, Helen Russell, of the ESRI stated:

“An unacceptable number of children on the island of Ireland are experiencing poverty and reducing this must be a priority for governments on both sides of the border.  The report highlights the range of welfare, educational, and labour market supports that impact and are needed to address this issue. It also highlights the need for clear targets, and political  accountability to tackle child poverty effectively, as well as the scope for greater cooperation and learning on a North South basis.”