Over 100,000 children living in poverty across Ireland

Kenneth Fox

Over 100,000 children in Ireland are now living in consistent poverty, a number that has risen by 45,000 in just one year.

Spiralling rents and high prices are being cited as the main reasons.

The Child Poverty Monitor from the Children's Rights Alliance found a scarcity of housing has led thousands of families into homelessness, with countless more living on top of each other in seriously cramped and inappropriate conditions.

Speaking about the report, Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance said:

“A childhood in poverty is one spent in cold, dark and damp housing, travelling hours just to get to school or knowing that there will not be a hot dinner for the rest of the week.

"Thousands of families are being forced to live on such tight margins that they live in constant fear of their child needing a hospital visit or getting a letter home about the next school trip.”

“What is deeply concerning is the number of children in consistent poverty - who are living in these conditions perpetually–which rose by a staggering 45,107 in 2024 to 102,977.

"These are children for whom a decent standard of living and aspirations of a better future diminish day by day. This poverty is not inevitable. Policy decisions and budget investments determine the fate of these children and young people.”

She said there is plenty of progress to report in 2025. Free school books, hot school meals and free GP care for children under eight are now guaranteed s that all children benefit from, but particularly those experiencing poverty.

Universal measures have advanced, many quicker than expected such as the historic billion-euro investments in childcare.

These have come at the expense of the targeted measures and strategic investment that are critical to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty our children are inheriting. Budget 2026 has to focus on breaking the cycle.

In of housing she said we only need to look at last month’s figures that show an additional 100 children made homeless to know that the current policy is not working and inflicting untold trauma on the now 4,775 children without a home to call their own.

"The rise in homeless figures is nothing new.

"We have seen a year on a year increase every time we publish the Child Poverty Monitor. The combination of rising rents (latest average reaching over €2,000 a month nationally) and a scarcity of supply has resulted in thousands of families being made homeless but also, countless more living on top of each other or in seriously cramped and inappropriate conditions,” Tanya Ward said.

“Overcrowding is a major issue for children living on the lowest incomes. Almost one in four children at risk of poverty are growing up in overcrowded households, completely unsuitable to meet their needs or their families.

"While the trend is more common across Europe, the rate of overcrowding for children has effectively doubled in Ireland from 2021 to 2024, and we are only scratching the surface on what impact these conditions are having on children.

Child protection services

"From ESRI research, we know that this can have detrimental impacts such as poorer wellbeing, greater conflict and disrupted family relationships and a knock-on effect on educational outcomes. We are also likely to see increases in the number of children referred to Tusla. The Government needs to look at the impact of overcrowding on children and young people.”

She said without access to critical child protection and welfare services and family in their community, families are pushed further to breaking point.

Referrals to Tusla have increased by 70 per cent since 2019. The Daniel McAnaspie Inquest called for a review of child protection and welfare services to ensure that Tusla has sufficient resourcing to keep children safe.

“Last year’s budget allocation to Tusla was mostly to maintain existing levels of care, failing to acknowledge the spike in referrals and the increased complexity of cases. Budget 2026 cannot leave these children behind. We are calling for direct investment of €50 million to ensure our core child protection and welfare services are ed to help children most vulnerable in society," she said.

Ms Ward said poverty and income are inextricably linked. As rent and the cost of living eat away at available income, families are left without enough money in their pockets, going to extraordinary lengths and debts just to get through the week.

"Positively, Budget 2025 acknowledged the higher cost of older children by raising the Child Payment, but the incremental increases of a few euro are barely enough to buy the bottle of milk and shampoo that week,"

"This targeted income is designed to help children in families already relying on social welfare to level the playing field.  The cumulative impact of continued rising costs has created a landslide effect for low-income families, meaning ensuring the very basic necessities such as nutritious food or keeping your home warm become increasingly difficult," she said.

She said the single most effective action the Government can take in breaking the intergenerational cycle of child poverty is to invest in children in their early years. Infants and small children living in poverty need wraparound early years .

The Government has taken the first step in addressing these issues through the development of Equal Start that aims to deliver universal and targeted s to families and early years settings grappling with the impact of poverty and social exclusion.