Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I support what Senator Quinn said about children and poverty. Later today Barnardos will launch what it calls an election manifesto, which is opportune. It will highlight the fact that one in nine children lives in consistent poverty. The figure is up from last year when one in ten children lived in consistent poverty. Consistent poverty is the best way to measure the poor circumstances in which children live because it takes an overall view of how they live. It takes account of whether there is enough food in the house to feed them and whether they have warm and suitable clothing and footwear. It also takes account of their environment in terms of play facilities. It is a shocking indictment of our society and of Government spending that the number of children living in poverty is increasing each year.

There was a booklet on my desk this morning from the Combat Poverty Agency which I did not have time to read. It also highlights the poor in our society. As I mentioned yesterday, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul highlighted the same issues.

Barnardos also provides figures on early school leavers. One in five children leaves secondary school early. Some 2,000 children are waiting for psychological assessments. They are just some of the figures being highlighted by Barnardos today and we should all read them. The parents of many of these children will not go out to vote because they feel so detached from the political system and so let down. We need to focus on this area. I would say to the Government that after ten years in office, it is a shame the number of children living in poverty is growing.