Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 9 November 2021

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth

Child Poverty: Discussion

Photo of Mark WardMark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I get that. That is the poverty of opportunity. It is difficult for children. Ms Connolly mentioned school and in my area we have seen school completion programmes being closed. On one hand, we are trying to get kids into school and support them and, on the other, the school completion programmes are closed.

My next question is on child homelessness. I have seen in my office, as we all have as public representatives, where people come in with their children. I have allowed families to use my phone because they have run out of credit from ringing place after place trying to find a place for the night. I have seen the trauma in the kids' faces every time mother or father is told there is no room at the inn. I have seen the mother and father being like any mother and father, trying to shield their child from this trauma and being unable to do so. When they eventually find somewhere, they might have to get two buses and bring all their belongings across the city just to find a place for the night. Then they go through the whole process again the next day. It is heartbreaking to see. What long-term implications will that have on children, especially on mental health?