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Persistent poverty in Northern Ireland 'twice that of Great Britain'

Thursday, 12 November 2009

The level of persistent poverty in Northern Ireland children is more than double that of those in Great Britain, it was revealed today.

High levels of unemployment, disability, lower wages and poor quality part-time jobs were to blame, a study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) discovered.

A fifth of families in Northern Ireland experienced persistent poverty compared to a tenth in Great Britain in recent years.

Julia Unwin, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, called for action by the Assembly.

"The Assembly has already shown that it is possible to intervene to alleviate some of the worst aspects of poverty.

Just as it provided the one-off fuel payment of £150 to families on benefit in winter 2008/09, it could make it easier for people to take 'mini-jobs', allowing those living on benefits to provide a little extra for their families," she said.

"School budgets need to provide for all the costs of education including books, school trips and after-school activities.

"It must also address ways of giving poorer young people access to positive social and leisure activities."

Persistent poverty means being in poverty for at least three out of four years, in this case from 2003-2007.

Reasons for the higher levels of disadvantage included the fact that 31% of the working age population isn't in paid work, higher than any Great Britain region.

High rates of limiting long-term illness, especially mental ill-health, and disability were also to blame, the study carried out by Goretti Horgan from the University of Ulster and Marina Monteith from Save the Children found.

The median wage for men working full-time in Northern Ireland is 85% that of Great Britain.

Poor quality part-time jobs and obstacles to mothers working were also highlighted.

The authors acknowledge that there are some areas beyond the Assembly's control but made six recommendations to the devolved legislature.

They included:

Increasing the supply of well-paid, good quality jobs;
Supporting those already in work to increase their qualification levels;
Alleviating the worst impacts of poverty on children;
Addressing the lack of quality affordable childcare;
Increasing educational attainment;
Providing access to leisure and social activities for poorer young people.

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soarer, if you're under the impression that Belfast is an important city as it is, well, perhaps that would explain why the rest of your post was devoid of all sense, logic, or basic grammar.

Posted by Donald Goines | 13.11.09, 23:34 GMT

Donald, the level of poverty in this region of the UK is hardly surpising considering the decades of fighting. Central government has thrown billions at this region. No water charges. riddiculously low local rates. free prescriptions. If you took it on face value this is the most looked after area of the UK. But that means nothing without inward commercial investment which has been slowly happening. NI will catch up and be more self-sufficient but Rome wasnt built in a day. Marrying a broke, small state, making a city such as belfast less important is hardly a solution.

Posted by soarer | 13.11.09, 09:19 GMT

post 2

Their children run naked as they can not afford clothes. I could go on as I’m sure you can imagine but I will not. You get the picture I’m sure. In short if they do not have a family member that is working they simply starve. No handouts or welfare state here. You just die. I originally hail from Belfast. So I was more than a little annoyed to read this headline.

These poor will not be opening up expensive gifts for their birthdays or the like. So I ask you again is poverty the right word to describe those less fortunate in Northern Ireland?

Posted by John | 13.11.09, 08:50 GMT

So lets cut household rates for the better off, keep the best schools for the middle classes and have free parking for civil servants. When are the poor going to catch our MLAs on?

Posted by aquifer | 12.11.09, 22:10 GMT

So there's child poverty because people aren't in work, on the sick and living on benefits and the solution of these so-called researchers is to throw more money at the problem? This is nonsense that the country can ill-afford. How much did this survey cost anyway. The "Poverty Industry" seems to be paying well for some and Horgan and Monteith are milking it for all its worth.

Posted by Michael Brownlee | 12.11.09, 19:11 GMT

In short if they do not have a family member that is working they simply starve. No handouts or welfare state here. You just die. I originally hail from Belfast. So I was more than a little annoyed to read this headline.

These poor will not be opening up expensive gifts for their birthdays or the like. So I ask you again is poverty the right word to describe those less fortunate in Northern Ireland?

Posted by John | 12.11.09, 16:32 GMT

Some people may have a lot less than others in NI, but are they truly living in poverty?

Everyone in NI no matter how poor they are, have access to benefits and excellent health care provided by highly competent doctors and nurses. The majority of the people that the article says live in poverty have a roof over their heads…Think about it carefully…Is poverty the right word, really? I think not.

I have worked for a charity/Christian organization in south East Asia for the past ten years. I have traveled extensively throughout Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. The poor people that I have worked with in these countries are exactly that. They’re dirt poor. They have nothing. Many of which survive on less than a dollar a day. They fashion homes from trees and leaves. Their children run naked as they can not afford clothes. I could go on as I’m sure you can imagine but I will not. You get the picture I’m sure. Continued on next post.

Posted by John | 12.11.09, 16:31 GMT

Poverty of children in Ulster worse than the rest of the UK? That is not very surprising! We have so-called politicians in Ulster still having a war of words about a conflict that was supposed to be over day in year in! They dont want to grasp the fact that they were elected to make the lives of Ulsters families better! They rant about Loyalism, republicanism and think what a good point scoring day we have had. Our kids dont stand a chance do they with these wasters as Ulsters future is still in its past! Workers parties where art thou??

Posted by Bill Turner | 12.11.09, 12:44 GMT

"Reasons for the higher levels of disadvantage included the fact that 31% of the working age population isn't in paid work"

And some talking heads on here say that the Republic's economy is in the doldrums?

Looks like Northern Ireland's problems run far deeper than a simple economic downturn. Even with the crisis, the average wage in the Republic is 120 per cent of the EU-15 average, the average in NI for working men is just 85 per cent of the British average. A startling fact.

That must be why the Irish exchequer is coping with rampant welfare fraud coming from Northern Ireland, benefits here are far higher.

Looks like the economic argument for continued leeching off the British, or should I say continued participation in the United Kingdom, is even feebler than once thought.

Then again, no wonder only 32.5 per cent of Britons in the British Social Attitudes survey in 2007 supported NI's continued presence in the UK, with figures such as these, it's easy to see why.

Posted by Donald Goines | 12.11.09, 11:09 GMT