Ms Edel Quinn:

There is a cumulative effect in all the cuts. It is not just the savings made in social protection but there have been cuts in other areas which have been more subtle in their effect. For example, there has been the tightening up of the criteria for certain other payments. These affect the bottom lines of families which are already struggling with what they have at the end of the month.

Children have certain rights and the Government has voluntarily taken on human rights obligations for children from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The committee that oversees that convention would say that in times of recession or when countries are struggling, we must protect the most vulnerable. We see that these groups have been disproportionately affected and it is time to say that enough is enough and put the argument about children's socio-economic rights on the table. Children's rights have not been the focal point in discussions about reform.