Causes Of Poverty In Ireland

Poverty has become an increasingly common issue and is a general worldwide problem. There is a high degree of poverty throughout Ireland. Poverty is when people are lacking their basic needs which they need to survive (Gifford, 2009). There are 698,000 people experiencing poverty in Ireland and 211,000 of whom are children (Foley, 2015). Child poverty in Ireland is a consistent problem and is one of the highest rates in Europe (O'Hagan & Newman, 2014). There are two types of poverty Absolute and Relative poverty. Absolute poverty is the deficiency of basic needs throughout a long period of time, which jeopardises an individual’s life and can cause harm to them (Geyndt, 1996). Relative poverty refers to not having the basic living conditions

The cost of living in Ireland is rising at a rapid rate and more people are falling into a poverty trap (Murphy et al 2008). Ireland’s economic situation is lacking signs of major improvement. Educational improvement and the general income growth are poverty reducing influences, however, inequality is the biggest increasing poverty issue. The Government has failed to defend the more susceptible in society. A double attack on unemployment and persistent cuts has pushed people, families and communities towards poverty. The government needs to implement more policies for people in poverty as they need to approach this issue instead of overlooking these problems. Support payments from the government, such as social welfare payments has decreased the level of poverty in Ireland, however the current budget cutbacks of child benefit have caused a massive rise of child poverty in Ireland. Generally, individuals that encounter poverty are depending on social welfare payments from the government (Shepard, 2012). Poverty is mainly the significance of how society is planned and resources which are assigned. The ideas of how to eliminate poverty are political decisions of society. The persistent increased level of poverty throughout Ireland implies that it is crucial, how society is planned and resources which are assigned such as access to education, housing, economic, social and cultural services. Children in poverty are often attending school on an empty stomach. The Irish government must make better choices of their budget cuts, of how they should spend their money so children don’t have to suffer excessively. Furthermore the current problem of homelessness is not only just immensely damaging each day for children and families it is creating more issues for the future (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009). The reality is the next generation of children living in care, unemployed,