|TOP|Representatives of the Northern Ireland Government and voluntary organisations met last week with church representatives to highlight the problem of child poverty that persists in Northern Ireland as well as to challenge the Churches in developing an effective response.

The Child Poverty Forum, held on 6 December, was led by Archbishop Robin Eames, who said: “I have felt for some time that there is a real need for Irish society to become much more aware of the true and often tragic situation in which too many children and young people find themselves because of poverty on this island.”

Archbishop Eames said on receiving responses and personal experiences from many professional people, organisations and individuals from across Ireland that the situation was “much worse than I had imagined”.

He said that whilst child poverty was not a Church effort alone, the intention behind the Forum, hosted by the Church of Ireland under the motto “De-coding Society in Ireland”, was to confront the Churches with the realities of the tragedy.|QUOTE|

“All Christians are charged with making the Gospel of our Lord as relevant and as sensitive as we can to the needs of society,” said the Archbishop. “I cannot imagine a more pressing cry for that Christian attention than that of little children who are being denied the privileges of so much of society because of poverty.”

He said that despite the good work of many agencies and the government, as well as local churches, society remained “ignorant of the true facts” of child poverty, adding that the Forum “must not become a ‘one off’ event”.

Archbishop Eames said the Forum must “first grasp the true facts and then institute a process which in turn will lead to action.”

|AD|He said: “We are not here to be confronted – we are here to be uncomfortable until we reach out as Churches, groups and individuals to understand and then alleviate if we can, the lot of children in poverty. At the very least let us use this day to call on society to take notice of the real story.”

Speakers and panellists at the event included Baroness May Blood, MBE, Chair of Shankill Sure Start/The Early Years Project and Chair of the Integrated Education Fund in Northern Ireland, Helen Johnston, Director of Combat Poverty Agency and also the Most Rev. Richard Clarke, Bishop of Meath and Kildare.

Research recently published by Goretti Horgan of the University of Ulster together with a Londonderry women’s group said that mothers and young people in Northern Ireland are facing a difficult time in finding well-paid employment.

“The cost of living is more expensive in NI...yet benefit levels are no higher and wages are lower,” said Ms. Horgan. “The impact of this on mothers trying to make ends meet is the starkest message of all.”