In Ireland, as in many European countries, the rate of poverty and deprivation is higher for children than it is for adults. This is important, not only because of a concern with the well-being of children but also because childhood deprivation can have long-term negative consequences that persist into adulthood. This report examines childhood deprivation in Ireland in 2009 in the context of this concern for the current well-being of children and their future prospects.

The goal of this report is to address five questions:
1. How much child-specific deprivation is there in Ireland and what form does it take?
2. What are the main risk factors for child-specific deprivation?
3. How well do the national measures of basic deprivation and consistent poverty identify children who are deprived?
4. How do the risk factors for child-specific deprivation differ from the risk factors for basic household-level deprivation?
5. What are the implications for policy?