Northern Ireland, June 2025 - New poll provides up-to-date picture of public attitudes on child poverty, showing 3 in 4 (76%) people are concerned about the number of children growing up in poverty, while 1 in 2 (57%) say Executive is not taking enough action to address it.
When it comes to child poverty, we now know 4 in every 5 people in Northern Ireland (84%) are concerned about the long-term impact it will have on children’s lives, according to new data. The poll, commissioned by Save the Children NI and compiled by LucidTalk, reveals almost 7 in 10 of us (69%) believe not enough is being done to tackle child poverty. In fact, the survey points to a real public conscience on the issue, with over half of people (52%) revealing they know children who live in poverty in their own neighbourhoods.
Key findings –
- *76% of people are concerned about the number of children growing up in poverty.
- *52% of people know children who are growing up in poverty in their neighbourhood.
- *84% are concerned about the long-term impact poverty has on children’s lives*69% of people believe not enough is being done to address child poverty.
- *57% said NI Exec is taking insufficient action to address poverty.
- *80% believe the high cost of living is the main reason children are living in poverty.
Single mum, Nokthula told us: “I’m feel like I’m living in a prison, that I can’t move forward or backwards. For me as a mum who is waiting in the asylum system I can’t work and give my son the opportunities I want. I struggle to afford enough food and nappies. I can feed my son and then run out of food for me. My son is non-verbal and it’s difficult to get the right support for him. Things are difficult, I have to be strong.”
Peter Bryson from Save the Children NI said: “The rise in child poverty over the last decade has been alarming and yet political leaders are failing to rise to the challenge. This poll reveals a real public conscience in Northern Ireland around child poverty and its lasting impacts. The data proves that most people care and want to see the Government act and intervene to bring meaningful change for children.”
“We, with colleagues across the sector, have long been calling for an ambitious and funded costed Anti-Poverty Strategy. It has yet to be published, and our frustrations grow by the day for the families who live daily with the limiting realities of poverty. The 100,00 young lives being impacted by poverty right now deserve so much more. What will it take before decisive action is taken and the lived experiences of those in poverty are prioritised without excuse, without delay?”
Since the start of 2024, Save the Children NI has helped over 1 thousand families in need, providing hundreds of thousands of pounds of support in the form of family grants.
Mum of 3, Louise: “I’m a single mum and a qualified social worker but I can’t afford to be at work because of childcare costs which are just extortionate. Affordable childcare would help so much and allow parents like me to be in work and contribute to the economy. I’d love to see more community investment and a focus on families and young people.”
Note to Editors:
Polling was carried out online from 7th March (1pm) to 10th April (8pm) 2025, using the established LucidTalk Northern Ireland (NI) online opinion panel (16,826 members), which is balanced to be demographically representative of Northern Ireland (NI). 1,447 full responses were received, and these were then authenticated, audited, weighted, and modelled, into a 1,050/1,051 NI representative response data-set, which was used for analysis in terms of the final results. Weighting was carried out by age, gender, socio-economic group, previous NI voting patterns, NI constituency, NI constitutional position, political-party support, and religious affiliation, in order to produce a robust Northern Ireland representative opinion sample. All results are accurate in terms of being NI representative to within an error of +/-2.3% at 95% confidence. LucidTalk is a member of the British Polling Council (BPC) and abides by its regulations - LucidTalk is the only NI (and Ireland) based polling and market research company who is a member of the British Polling Council. LucidTalk (LT) is also a member of the UK Market Research Society (UK-MRS), and ESOMAR (European Society of Market Research Organisations). All LT projects are carried out to the professional standards specified by the BPC and also AIMRO (Association of Irish Market Research organisations).