Social Problems

Poverty and Homelessness are two major problems that children face in the Republic of Ireland. 

Poverty has been a problem since the Great Potato Famine from 1845-1849 and the recession in 1980.  In 1985, 25% of children lived in poor households, but dropped to 6.5% in 2001.  A poor household is defined as low income and lacking basic necessities.  Ireland's high poverty level can be attributed to the high fertility rate that once existed.  Because of the ban on contraception and women being restricted from working after marriage, families were large and could only rely one source of income.  In the recession of 1980 there was high unemployment and families had a hard time trying to provide for their children.  High unemployment rates and high dropout rates also contributed to high poverty levels.  In 1994 surveys showed that consistent poverty level was at 14.5%, and income poverty was 15.6% but rose to 22% in 2001.  In 2001, 192,000 people lived in consistent poverty, and 23.4% of children lived in families 60% below the median income level. 

Homelessness is a by-product of the poverty situation in Ireland.  A homeless person is considered to be someone who has no reasonable housing or lives in a hospital, institution, or homeless shelter because of lack of housing.  Two types of homelessness recognized by the Irish government are: visible homelessness and hidden homelessness.

• Visible Homelessness is when a person is on the streets or is living in a shelter. 
  



• Hidden Homelessness is temporary overcrowding of families in one home.

In March 2002, there were 5,581 homeless people in Ireland.  Of that 5,581, there were 2,920 homeless people were in Dublin (Ireland's capital).  Also in March 2002, there were 1,405 children who were homeless with their parents, and 1,140 of those children lived in Dublin.  56% of those children were 5 years old and younger. 

The Government Policies page will discuss what has been done to solve these two problems.