According to Barnardos, one in three parents fell behind on energy bills in the year leading up to April due to inadequate income, reports RTE.
The children’s charity’s latest cost of living report also revealed that 40% of parents borrowed money at least once to cover essential needs for their children.
This annual publication marks the fourth report on the cost of living and is based on a nationally representative survey of 1,000 parents, carried out by Amárach research for Barnardos, reports RTE.
While 32% of parents went into arrears on their energy bills, the number of families who had to forgo or reduce heating and electricity usage over six months dropped by 10% and 3%, respectively, compared to the same time in 2024.
Barnardos welcomed the reduction in heating-related hardship but said the improvement was most likely due to “actual falling prices” of certain energy products, reports RTE.
The charity reported that nearly half of all families had to go without or scale back on basic necessities.
The findings showed that 19% had cut back on or gone without food over a six-month period, a slight improvement of 1% compared to 2024.
It noted that 40% of parents had skipped meals or reduced their portion sizes to ensure their children had enough to eat, and that 12% had turned to food banks, reports RTE.
More than three-quarters of parents — 78% — said the rising cost of living had a negative impact on the children in their care.
Nearly one in five — or 19% — said the effect was “significantly” negative, up from 18% in 2024 and 12% in 2022, reports RTE.
In total, Barnardos said this amounts to around 200,000 children affected, adding that “low income families are still really struggling”.
Younger parents aged 18 to 24 were far more likely to go without or cut back on necessities compared to older parents.
Likewise, single parents were significantly more likely to miss out on essentials than two-parent households, reports RTE.
Almost one in three — 29% — said the cost of living had a serious negative effect on their children, compared with 16% of parents in two-parent families.
According to the charity, 50% of lone parents had to go without or reduce spending on clothing, compared to 38% of two-parent households, reports RTE.
It also reported that 25% of one-parent households cut back on or went without heating, in contrast with 15% of two-parent families.
Regarding children’s social lives and entertainment, the study saw a 5% rise in the number of parents who had to cut back on such spending.
Close to one in five — 16% — said they had to reduce or forego school activities or trips, reports RTE.
Parents receiving Barnardos’ support said their children participated less in activities and sports that require financial contribution.
In some cases, children missed birthday parties because their families couldn’t afford to buy a gift, reports RTE.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Barnardos CEO Suzanne Connolly described the latest findings as “very stark” and warned that children are being socially isolated.
“At an absolute minimum, every child in Ireland should live in homes with adequate heating and electricity, sufficient nutritious food and appropriate clothing, as well as opportunity to engage in sporting and cultural activities,” she added.
Ms Connolly stressed that parents should “not be at risk of constant financial distress in order to provide their children with these essentials”, reports RTE.
She noted that some families are deprived of any enjoyment in life because of constant financial pressure.
“We’re talking about families who can’t afford to buy their children shoes,” she said, reports RTE.
She added that two out of five parents are seriously or moderately concerned about how this affects their children’s mental health and overall wellbeing.
“They know that their children are living in households where their parents are stressed and that’s going to affect their children’s well being”.
She also pointed out that some parents are reducing meal sizes or skipping them entirely to ensure their children are fed, reports RTE.
The report also cited the latest data from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, showing that child deprivation remained mostly unchanged from 2023, at 21.2%, down slightly from 21.4%.
However, the percentage of children at risk of poverty increased from 14.3% to 15.3%.
There was also a notable rise in the rate of children living in consistent poverty, increasing from 4.8% to 8.5%, reports RTE.
The current Programme for Government pledged to take steps to “lift more children out of poverty, giving them the futures they deserve”.
Despite several once-off cost of living interventions by the Government, Barnardos said conditions have not improved since the organisation began reporting on the issue four years ago, reports RTE.
Ms Connolly explained that families on the lowest incomes are “really struggling”, including those just above the threshold to qualify for welfare aid.
She urged the Government to provide targeted support in the upcoming budget to help those in greatest need, such as by boosting child benefit payments and extending fuel allowances, reports RTE.
“In relation to the child support payment, increase it by €6 for families with children under 12 and by €15 for the when the child is over 12.
“We’re also saying, could they extend the fuel allowance to people on the working family payment. This are concrete measures that could make a really significant difference”, reports RTE.
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