Children in the economic crisis: Ireland

Nearly ten years after the first financial shock waves rippled through the world economy, generating a global recession, the track record of high income countries in protecting children from its worst effects, is mixed. A new book, Children of Austerity: Impact of the Great Recession on child poverty in rich countries, published by the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, in collaboration with sixteen international research institutions, provides a detailed account of the effects of the crisis, and government policy responses to it, on children in high income countries. The country case studies focus on Belgium, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. In-depth analysis of the wide-ranging experiences provides valuable lessons about protecting children during economic crises, since the selected countries cover the whole spectrum in terms of their circumstances prior to the crisis, the severity of the crisis’ impact within their borders, and their national policy responses.