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Programme Overview
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Facts at a Glance
- Ireland has one of the highest rates of poverty among developed countries, ranking third highest in the 2005 United Nations Human Development Index. 1
- Approximately 23.9% of all children in Ireland in 2003 were “at risk of poverty” – the official EU definition of income poverty. 2
- In 2003, 242,000 children were living in households where the income was less than 60% of national median income. 3
- Some 18% of children leave school early, 15% leave school without a Leaving Certificate (high school diploma) and 3% leave with no qualification at all. 4
- The unemployment rate among children who leave school early averages almost 21.9% compared with an overall unemployment rate of 4.4%.5
The Situation in Brief
Interventions for children have tended to be reactive, often in response to critical, high-profile problems, with insufficient attention being given to longer-term prevention and early intervention. Individual services are typically not based on quantified outcomes for children and families. This context is changing, however; there is growing interest in evidence-based services among providers and the government.
Although Ireland is a signatory to the “UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child” and has produced a National Children’s Strategy, much remains to be accomplished in terms of implementation. Day-to-day responsibility for children is spread between several government departments and, to serve children better, greater coordination is needed between and within these departments, as well as between the departments and nongovernmental children’s organisations.
Disadvantaged Children & Youth Programme Goals
The goals of the Disadvantaged Children & Youth Programme in the Republic of Ireland are as follows:
- Help more organisations offer high-quality, evidence-based services, especially in the following areas: early education, out-of-school-time learning opportunities, health care services, and family and mentoring services.
- Support organisations that give programme providers and policy makers technical advice and consultation – with an eye towards helping them work more closely together, improve their practise, and share their research and results more broadly.
- Strengthen organisations that advocate for public backing of better policies and programmes for children.
Continue to read about our Disadvantaged Children & Youth Programme in the United States »
Disadvantaged Children and Youth Resources
- Barnardos, http://www.barnardos.ie/
- Children's Rights Alliance, http://www.childrensrights.ie/
- End Child Poverty Coalition, http://www.endchildpoverty.ie/
- Office of the Minister for Children, http://www.omc.gov.ie/
- The Ombudsman for Children,
http://www.oco.ie/
Footnotes
1, Source: 2005 United Nations Human Development Index
2, Source: Central Statistics Office (2005) EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions
3, Source: Central Statistics Office (2005) EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions
4, Source: National Education Welfare Board Information Update, May 2004
5, Source: Central Statistics Office, 2004