Seven Steps to Ending Child Poverty

Abstract

Since 1997, the issue of child poverty has remained high on the political agenda with the result that there has been a strong commitment by Government to tackle it.This can be seen from the range of strategies and policies that have been produced, including the National Children’s Strategy (2000), which promises that ‘children will be provided with the financial supports necessary to eliminate child poverty’. Also the revised National Anti-Poverty Strategy (2002) sets a target of reducing the number of children living in consistent poverty to below 2% by 2007 and if possible to eliminate it.The Government’s commitment to achieving this target is reiterated in the current social partnership agreement Sustaining Progress 2003-2005, where one of the Special Initiatives is dedicated to ‘Ending Child Poverty’.