Impact of Childhood Poverty Experiences on Adult Life

Posted on Monday, 6 January 2025
SILC Module on the Impact of Childhood Poverty Experiences on Adult Life 2023 infographic

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) "Module on the Impact of Childhood Poverty Experiences on Adult Life 2023" shedding light on how financial hardships during adolescence can influence various aspects of adult life. 

 

Poverty and Deprivation

Adults aged 25 to 59 who perceived their teenage household financial situation as poor ("Bad") face significant economic challenges:

  • At Risk of Poverty: 16.0 per cent are at risk, nearly double the 8.3 per cent of those who viewed their teenage finances as good ("Good").

  • Enforced Deprivation: 34.9 per cent experience enforced deprivation, compared to 10.3 per cent from more financially secure backgrounds.

Enforced deprivation refers to the inability to afford basic necessities, such as replacing worn-out furniture or participating in social activities.

Education and Employment

Educational attainment and employment status are also affected:

  • Third-Level Education: Only 38.7 per cent from financially strained teenage years have achieved third-level education, in contrast to 64.1 per cent from better-off backgrounds.

  • Employment Status: Those from poorer teenage households are more likely to be unemployed or unable to work due to long-standing health problems.

Well-being and Health

The survey highlights disparities in well-being and health:

  • Life Satisfaction: 14.8 per cent rate their overall life satisfaction as high, compared to 28.9 per cent from financially secure teenage years.

  • Health Status: A higher percentage report fair or bad health, indicating long-term health implications linked to childhood financial hardship.

European Comparison

When compared to other European countries, Ireland exhibits similar trends, with individuals from disadvantaged childhoods facing greater challenges in adulthood across various life domains. The CSO's findings underscore the enduring impact of childhood financial hardship on adult life in Ireland, affecting poverty risk, educational attainment, employment status, and overall well-being. These insights emphasise the importance of addressing childhood poverty to improve long-term outcomes for individuals.

Policy Proposals for tackling child poverty 

Child poverty solutions hinge on issues such as adequate adult welfare rates, decent rates of pay and conditions for working parents, and adequate and available public services. Child benefit also remains a key route to tackling child poverty. It is of particular value to those families on the lowest incomes.

Adequate adult welfare rates are essential to address child poverty in families on fixed incomes. If we are to take poverty, including child poverty, seriously, we must invest in adequate incomes. Income adequacy cannot be addressed by one-off measures, a targeted approach that includes adequate levels of social welfare rates for households on fixed incomes, and decent rates of pay and conditions, and expansion of eligibility of certain welfare supports for working families is required.

Income supports and joblessness

Social Justice Ireland is calling for:

  • A commitment to benchmarking core social welfare rates to 27.5 per cent of average weekly earnings.
  • An increase in the monthly Child Benefit Payment.  Child benefit remains a key route to tackling child poverty and is of particular value to those families on the lowest incomes.
  • The Living Wage has an important role to play in addressing the persistent income inequality and poverty levels in our society. 
  • The introduction of a system of Refundable Tax Credits to allow low income workers who do not earn enough to use their full credit to have the unused portion “refunded”, and support their ability to deal with increasing living costs. Making tax credits refundable would make Ireland’s tax system fairer, address part of the working poor problem, and improve the living standards of a substantial number of low income workers and their families.
  • Investment in a financial literacy programme aimed at school children and their families.

Early learning and childcare

Social Justice Ireland is calling for:

  • An investment of 0.1 per cent of GNI* in Early Childhood Care and Education and build this investment each year to 2030 to support staff professionalisation, expansion of ECCE provision through the Irish language, and investment in non‐contact ECCE time.
  • An increase in the affordable childcare subsidy for children under three.
  • An additional two weeks paternity leave.
  • An additional two weeks of paid parental leave.
  • An increase in the resources available for the regulation of childminders.

Reducing the cost of education

Social Justice Ireland is calling for:

  • A target of keeping average class sizes below 20 and reducing the Pupil‐Teacher Ratio (PTR) further with a special focus on primary level and DEIS schools.
  • An investment to increase the provision of school places for students with Special Educational Needs in both mainstream schools and special schools.
  • Support the continued expansion of the DEIS programme.
  • Restoration of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance to 2011 levels.
  • Increased funding for Schools Meals Programme.
  • Fund school places, programmes and supports for students with special education needs. 
  • An increase in capitation grants at both primary and secondary level.
  • An extension of the JCSP Library project to post primary DEIS schools.
  • An increase in the maintenance grant for full-time students at third level.

Family homelessness

Social Justice Ireland is calling for:

  • Expansion of the remit of Housing First to homeless families accessing emergency accommodation, and that Government introduce a limit to the amount of time a family may spend in Family Hubs as well as other forms of emergency housing.
  • A target of 20 per cent of all housing stock be social housing by 2030. This would equate to an additional 239,918 social housing units to be delivered in the next six years.
  • A restructuring of the Rent Tax Credit to a Renters’ Grant.

Pathways to access the services children and families need

Social Justice Ireland is calling for:

  • Additional funding to Tusla for child protection and increased social provision for children and families.
  • Sufficient resources to support the delivery of the National Action Plan for the EU Child Guarantee.
  • An investment from surplus windfall revenue into Sláintecare infrastructure with a focus on Enhanced Community Care to improve access to health care services.
  • The expansion of the Enhanced Community Care Programme to alleviate pressure on acute services and ensure treatment is provided at the appropriate level of need.
  • Sufficient resources to provide Universal Access to GP Care while expanding the number of GP and Practice Teams in line with the shift towards Primary Care & Community Based services envisaged in Sláintecare.
  • Investment in the full implementation of the Sharing the Vision policy (including addressing staffing issues).
  • Increased investment in Youth Services across the country.

Participation in arts, culture and sports opportunities

Social Justice Ireland is calling for:

  • Increase investment in sports and recreation facilities, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
  • An additional investment in funding for the Arts Council to embed arts and cultural participation as part of the ECCE framework. This investment would begin to address the large disparities in arts participation between children from different socio‐economic backgrounds highlighted in the Growing up in Ireland study.