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What can we do to tackle child poverty in Northern Ireland?

The challenges facing the Northern Ireland Assembly in meeting its target of ending child poverty.

Written by:
Goretti Horgan and Marina Monteith
Date published:

Ending child poverty is a particularly big challenge for Northern Ireland given the high proportion of children in persistent poverty and the nature of a society emerging from over 30 years of conflict. In order to reduce child poverty in the region, the Northern Ireland Assembly needs to reduce barriers to working and increase opportunities. It could do this by:

  • Working with employers to provide better jobs.
  • Helping people in work to gain qualifications.
  • Addressing the lack of childcare.
  • Ensuring school budgets can provide for all the costs of education.
  • Providing better access to leisure and social activities for young people in poverty.
  • Increasing educational attainment for disengaged young people.
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