Masterson slams Government over 'indifference' to child poverty

Sinn Féin’s Cllr Aoife Masterson has criticised the Government for what she described as an ‘unacceptable indifference and inaction’ in relation to child poverty.

Cllr Masterson was responding to the latest report from Barnardos in which 78% of families said the cost of living had impacted their children.

Cllr Masterson said: “At the very minimum, every child should live in a home with adequate heating and electricity, sufficient nutritious food, and appropriate clothing.

“Sadly, this recent report from Barnardos makes clear that is not the case for too many of our young people and their families.

“Ireland is a wealthy State but too many of our young people do not feel the benefit of this.

“We have a budget surplus if €8bn, but in the last six months alone one in five families have cut back or went without food, heating, or electricity, while one third of families went into arrears on energy bills.

“Recent reports from the ESRI, Children’s Rights Alliance, and Social Justice Ireland have all warned that this kind of poverty will traumatise generations of Irish children for decades to come – it will impact their physical and mental health, their career prospects, and even their life expectancy.

“I have been highlighting the levels of poverty that parents in Offaly are facing for some time. I see it day in day out in my office and clinics.

“Numerous reports have also warned about rising levels of deprivation.

She said when she raised this issue in Offaly County Council before the election, now Deputies McCormack and Clendennan said she was ‘playing politics’

“How can they fix a problem they won’t even acknowledge exists?

“Deputies McCormack and Clendennan may not want to listen to me, but they must listen to these reports and to the young people and families they represent – young people and families who are in real distress.

“There is nothing inevitable about this. This is a testament to the incompetence and ruthless narrow-minded ideology of this Government – a Government that sees no issue with the poverty it has created and the suffering it is inflicting on young people and their families.”