Poverty in Northern Ireland: A Synthesis of Evidence and International Comparison

Abstract: This article presents a summary of a systematic literature review of research that reported on poverty in Northern Ireland since 2020.  It also makes some international comparisons to set poverty in Northern Ireland within a wider world context.  Five major databases were systematically searched: Scopus, Web of Science, Social Policy and Practice, PsycINFO, and Medline, plus a number of non-governmental organisation (NGO) and government websites.  A total of 622 studies and reports were retrieved from academic, government, policy, and non-statutory sources.  These studies were exported to Evidence for Policy and Practice Information Centre (EPPI) Reviewer (Version: 6.16.0.0) for screening and data extraction.  Subsequently, 92 records underwent full-text screening, with 53 meeting the inclusion criteria and being incorporated into the evidence synthesis.  Findings indicated that child poverty, health poverty, food poverty, energy poverty, educational outcomes, housing and homelessness, employment poverty, and the cost of living were all significant issues surrounding poverty in Northern Ireland.  Comparisons of key poverty indicators in Northern Ireland with G12 countries, with constituent regions of the UK and the Republic of Ireland indicated that Northern Ireland has high levels of poverty on a number of indicators including low household income, shorter life expectancy from birth, and there was evidence that low wages of workers were contributing to high levels of poverty.  The policy and political context are discussed, and recommendations are made for policymakers to consider.

Key words: Poverty in Northern Ireland; Systematic Review of Evidence; International Comparisons of Poverty Indicators.

Introduction

Poverty is a critical social issue with profound negative impacts.  Despite extensive research on economic growth and development, economists have yet to find a definitive way to make poor countries prosperous, leaving poverty as the reality for billions (Azariadis and Stachurski, 2004).  In 1995, the United Nations (UN) adopted two distinct definitions of poverty.  One of these, absolute poverty, is characterised as a condition marked by severe deprivation of fundamental human needs, including access to adequate food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, healthcare, shelter, education, and information.  This definition emphasises that absolute poverty is not solely determined by income but also by the availability and accessibility of essential services (UN, 1995: 75).  According to the UN another form of poverty is overall poverty, which involves a lack of income, resources, and access to basic services, leading to hunger, poor health, inadequate housing, and social exclusion.  It occurs globally, from widespread deprivation in developing countries to isolated poverty amid wealth in developed nations, and can result from economic downturns, disasters, or social marginalisation (Ibid.: 75).

For many years, approaches to poverty in the realm of international development and policymaking were humanistically limited, focusing solely on economic growth as the primary goal of development and measuring quality of life only through per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Nussbaum, 2006).  Poverty occurs when individuals, families, or groups lack the resources necessary to access typical diets, participate in common activities, and enjoy standard living conditions and amenities, resulting in a level of deprivation so severe that they are effectively excluded from normal societal patterns and activities (Townsend, 1979).  According to Sen (1973), one reason poverty persists is its intrinsic link to inequality: even when average income levels rise, disparities within a society can still result in significant levels of poverty.  Furthermore, the socially accepted minimum standard of living, which helps define the ‘poverty line’, is often influenced by the average income, meaning poverty measures may also capture elements of relative inequality (Sen, 1973; Piketty, 2014).  On Piketty’s analysis (2014), inequality is not an accident but the result of capitalism which, without state intervention and high progressive income tax, threatens democracy and may result in extreme inequality.

The United Nations acknowledges that income alone does not constitute the ultimate goal but serves as a means to achieve the broader objective of human development.  To this end, non-economic factors such as a healthy life, women’s status/gender equality, and standard of living also play a vital role.  To promote this holistic approach, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) annually publishes the Human Development Report, ranking over 100 countries based on the Human Development Index (HDI).  This index not only considers gross national income (GNI) per capita (normalised to a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $75,000), a life expectancy index (measured by life expectancy at birth) and an education index (composed of expected years of schooling, compared to mean years of schooling) (UN, 2023; 2024).  A country’s or region’s level of achievement in a specific area (such as income, literacy, or life expectancy) is typically assessed using the average value of that outcome.  However, this approach overlooks the potential inequality in how that outcome is distributed among different population groups or geographical areas within the country.

This disparity is evident in Northern Ireland, which, despite being part of the United Kingdom, has long been recognised as one of its most deprived regions (Monteith and McLaughlin, 2020).  Despite this, it has not been prominently featured in discussions on poverty measurement or the development of poverty alleviation policies (Tomlinson et al., 2003).  Poverty in Northern Ireland leads to young people growing up in segregated communities characterised by high rates of disability, chronic physical and mental health issues, and persistent unemployment, perpetuating intergenerational poverty (Horgan, 2011).

This article sets out the findings of a systematic literature review of reports and research on poverty in Northern Ireland published between 1^st January 2020 and 31^st December 2024.  It then goes on to summarise how poverty in Northern Ireland compares to the G12 countries (with England, Wales, Scotland and North Ireland reported separately) and the Republic of Ireland.  The study was commissioned by the Centre for Global Education, a non-governmental development organisation based in Belfast, funded by the Halifax Foundation Empower Programme and carried out by researchers in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast.  The evidence will be examined to identify the main drivers and indicators of poverty, as well as the recommendations or interventions proposed to address the issue.  Additionally, the review will explore the connection between poverty and broader economic and social structures between Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, UK, Europe, and the global levels to enhance the understanding of the causes of poverty and inequality.  What follows is a summary of a more substantive report on the evidence surrounding poverty in Northern Ireland. The full report can be accessed at: https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/656343973/Poverty_in_NI_16_SEPT_2025.pdf

Methodology

A systematic literature review is a rigorous and structured approach to synthesise the existing literature, followed by a predefined protocol to ensure reproducibility, transparency, and minimisation of bias in the selection and inclusion of relevant literature (Guillaume, 2019).  It involves the identification of relevant databases, selection of studies according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria to filter irrelevant literature.  Relevant data is extracted and summarised, while the quality and reliability of the included studies are critically appraised. The findings are then systematically synthesised to provide a structured overview of the evidence.  Finally, the results are presented, highlighting key trends, insights, and research gaps that inform future research.

Research questions and databases

The systematic evidence synthesis was carried out to explore the following questions: what does the published literature indicate are the main drivers of poverty and long-term trends and indicators in Northern Ireland?; and how does poverty at a local (Northern Ireland) level connect with macro and international poverty trends in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Europe, and globally?  For this systematic literature review, we selected five prominent academic databases to ensure comprehensive coverage of peer-reviewed scholarly work.  In addition to these, we incorporated government and policy databases, as well as reports from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international bodies, to provide a broader contextual understanding and enable cross-sectoral comparison.  This multi-source approach allows us to triangulate findings, identify gaps between academic research and policy or practice, and enhance the robustness and relevance of our review outcomes.  Full details of the databases used in the search strategy and the selection process can be found in the main report (Ozkaya, Ain and Thurston, 2025).

Search Criteria

The search criteria were confined to papers:

1. Published studies, reports, and articles published from 2020 to 2024 in English. 
2. Geographically focused on Northern Ireland, with secondary comparisons to the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the EU, and global data. 
3. Addressed poverty, its drivers, trends, or policies in Northern Ireland. 
4. Sourced from governmental reports, peer-reviewed journals, NGO reports, and reputable policy analysis. 

For government, statutory, and non-statutory databases, we conducted a comprehensive search to identify documents related to poverty.  Unlike academic databases, these repositories do not feature search engines that allow for structured query strings.  Therefore, we manually examined archives containing relevant documents and reports to ensure a thorough and exhaustive search.  Search strategies used for searching records from databases can be found in the full report (Ozkaya, Ain and Thurston, 2025).  Figure 1 below sets out the process of identifying, screening and decision-making regarding inclusion/exclusion of research reports.

Figure 1. PRISMA Diagram (PRISMA, 2025)

Selection of studies

This review examined all available evidence on poverty in Northern Ireland, including its prevalence, severity, and lived experiences.  It also assessed various interventions and services aimed at reducing poverty, including government initiatives that provide support to those affected and targeted interventions for individuals experiencing poverty.  To manage the anticipated large volume of studies and maintain a focus on Northern Ireland, the search was limited to English-language peer-reviewed publications, government reports, and non-statutory literature.  The review included all studies on poverty in Northern Ireland, regardless of methodology.

In total, 622 studies were recorded from academic, government and policy databases, as well as non-statutory databases.  Studies were exported to the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI) Reviewer Version 6.16.0.0 for screening and data extraction.  Three hundred and fifty duplicates were found and removed.  Two reviewers conducted initial screening of titles and abstracts, and 219 records were excluded because they did not meet the inclusion criteria.  Ninety-two records were reviewed for full-text screening, and fifty-three records met the inclusion criteria and were included in the evidence synthesis.  The PRISMA flow diagram for this process is presented in Figure 1.  Inter-rater reliability was undertaken on 50 manuscripts to check for agreement on inclusion.  Kappa was =1.0, indicating complete agreement between the reviewers.

Thematic analysis of reports

Data on poverty in Northern Ireland reported in these publications was focussed across eight thematic areas:

1. Child poverty
2. Health poverty
3. Food poverty
4. Energy poverty
5. Educational outcomes
6. Housing and homelessness
7. Employment poverty
8. Cost of living

As this research revealed, 18 percent of children live in relative poverty in Northern Ireland with 8 percent of these living in persistent poverty (Northern Ireland Audit Office, 2024).  A large scale study using data from 11,114 children from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland reported that after controlling for age of children, number of children in household, number of adults in household, presence of a disabled person, qualifications of adults and whether adults were in work, children in Northern Ireland were significantly more likely to live in poverty than those in the Republic of Ireland.  The magnitude of this difference was expressed as 7 percent.  This major study was significant due to the excellent scientific statistical analysis and the sample size, indicating that results could be generalised to the whole populations of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (Russell et al., 2025).  Child poverty is driven by the high cost of living (food, fuel, childcare), inadequate welfare policies (e.g., two-child benefit limit), lone parenting and large families, disability in households, policy failures and lack of a cohesive anti-poverty strategy, and educational disadvantage and poor mental health.  The former United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights has been particularly critical of the UK Government’s policy on welfare reform (Alston, 2018).  In this report, Alston reported that the Universal Credit policy had an impact on claimants’ mental health, finances and work prospects.  Alston (2018: 3) reports that:

“The government has made no secret of its determination to change the value system to focus more on individual responsibility, to place major limits on government support, and to pursue a single-minded, and some have claimed simple-minded, focus on getting people into employment at all costs. Many aspects of this program are legitimate matters for political contestation, but it is the mentality that has informed many of the reforms that has brought the most misery and wrought the most harm to the fabric of British society.  British compassion for those who are suffering has been replaced by a punitive, mean-spirited, and often callous approach apparently designed to instil discipline where it is least useful, to impose a rigid order on the lives of those least capable of coping with today’s world, and elevating the goal of enforcing blind compliance over a genuine concern to improve the well-being of those at the lowest levels of British society”.

Such criticism highlights the role of neoliberal framing of poverty in government. Neoliberalism has been described as a political-economic regime (Hayek, 1944) in which human relations are defined by competition, citizens are primarily consumers, and the poor can make market decisions to improve their lives.  However, neoliberalism also suggests that the poor are deficient individuals who do not take responsibility for their fate or for the conditions in which they live (Feldman, 2019: 341).  Neoliberalism has been a driving force in welfare reform in the UK (Ibid.: 344), yet it fails to account for the systemic barriers that exist for people living in poverty.  While it may promote economic growth, neoliberalism also increases inequality, increasingly to dangerous levels, and concentrates capital accumulation in the hands of the few (Piketty, 2014).  These have been reported to be pervasive and to prevent ‘free-choice’ in lifestyles (Card and Hepburn, 2023) and economic mobility (Beni, 2025).  There are reports that neoliberalism is responsible for increasing inequality between those living in poverty and the rest of society so that members of society living in poverty are ‘left behind’ and their plight is ‘ignored by people in power’ (Stiglitz, 2024). 

Political parties must move away from neoliberalism and its framing of inequality, which recasts it as a virtuous outcome of people getting what they deserve (Monbiot, 2016).  Of course, poverty existed before neoliberalism became a mainstay of government economic and social policy.  Intergenerational poverty was recognised by Lewis (1959) as being a significant barrier to mobility out of poverty long before Thatcher and Reagan adopted neoliberalism (Monbiot, 2016).  As adopting neoliberal policy has failed to address the issue of poverty effectively, the logical conclusion must be that there should be a focus on changing socio-economic and political structures and providing financial intervention to remove poverty. Only then can behaviours change (Moore, 2001).

Life expectancy is lower in deprived areas, minus seven years for males and minus four years for females (Carson, Blakely and Laverty, 2021).  Poor health outcomes linked to food insecurity, provision for mental health issues, and poor access to wider health services.  For instance, Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) had a waiting list of 2,251 in 2023 (Reimagine Children’s Collective, 2023).  Poverty for those with intermediate immigration status is higher e.g., increasing numbers of newcomers are reported to find themselves destitute with a high odds ratio (2.9) of becoming homeless when compared to the settled population of Northern Ireland (O’Hara and Orr, 2021).  Those in poverty experience higher prevalence of ill health, difficulty and delays in accessing treatment and poorer health outcomes (Mallorie, 2024).  Health intersects with other effects of poverty, such as food insecurity.  The highest comorbidity between food and diet-related health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, is strongly linked to areas of high poverty in England (House of Commons Library, 2025).  Similar patterns exist in Northern Ireland, where many poor health outcomes are situated in the north, west and east of Belfast and Foyle (Derry/Londonderry) areas, such as the highest alcohol related mortality (west Belfast and Foyle) and chronic heart disease (Belfast east) (Russell, 2012).  These figures represent systemic failures by the Northern Ireland Assembly to address the underlying causes of poverty and implement effective public policies that enable health-related behavioural changes to occur.

Low household income is driving rising food insecurity, especially post-COVID and during school holidays.  Other contributory factors are health issues, poor access to affordable food, and welfare reforms that reduce the income of the poorest in society.  The number of food parcels delivered to families with children was 55,571, and those without children was 21,286 (an increase of 86 percent since 2019), and the very large increases in use of foodbank and food parcels by families in Northern Ireland’s highest poverty areas reflect this food insecurity (Trussell Trust, 2025a).  Trussell Trust (2025b: 30) estimates that the cost of food poverty in terms of cost to the NHS, losses to the economy and fiscal costs equate to £2 billion per annum.  The report states that food insecurity significantly impacts on mental and physical health with people facing hunger 24.3 percent more likely to need the use of an ambulance, 24.3 percent more likely to have attendance at Accident and Emergency, 11.5 percent more likely to need a GP appointment and 10.1 percent more likely to need a hospital admission (Ibid.: 35).  Food insecurity and fuel poverty go hand in hand (Ibid.: 23).  Often families find themselves tied into both forms of poverty simultaneously.  Forty-five per cent of households in Northern Ireland are fuel poor (Mudie, 2023).   There is a high reliance on unregulated home heating oil, poor insulation and energy efficiency in many homes, and rural areas are disproportionately affected by these factors.

There are significant educational attainment gaps between those living in poverty and those who are not.  Comparing Free School Meal student attainment with non-Free School Meal, shows a 25-percentage point gap in school attainment in favour of non-Free School Meal students.  The underlying causes of this gap may include poverty-related cognitive delays, lack of digital access (especially for migrants), and the continued use of attainment selection in the grammar school system, favouring wealthier families who can pay for tuition and preparation for the transfer test.  This results in the underrepresentation of students on free school meals in selective grammar schools (Borooah and Knox, 2015).  At the last school meals survey 31.6 percent of students in secondary school were in receipt of free school meals, whereas 11.6 percent of students in grammar schools were in receipt of free school meals (Northern Ireland Statistical Records Agency, 2020; Social Mobility Commission, 2021).  If opportunities for social mobility through education are to be realised, then grammar schools must do more to ensure that they take a representative sample of free school meals students.

Poverty is exacerbated for those who rent a home with 43 percent of social renters and 35 percent of private renters living in poverty (Department for Communities, 2024).  Issues within the rental market include overcrowding, poor housing quality, rising rents and housing insecurity and homelessness among No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) families and travellers (JRF, 2024).  Employment does not guarantee that families will escape from poverty.  The mean wage in Northern Ireland is low compared to that of other comparable countries.  Groups particularly affected by this include unpaid carers (Carers NI, 2022), disabled individuals, ethnic minorities and young people (JRF, 2024).  The high levels of poverty reported in Northern Ireland are set against a backdrop of high inflation, stagnant wages, and inadequate benefits.  Twenty-five percent of people in Northern Ireland were reported to earn less than the living wage, £9.30/hour in 2021 (Social Mobility Commission, 2021).  All these factors deepen poverty.

It is important to understand that poverty in Northern Ireland is situated within a post-conflict society.  The troubles brought additional challenges to those living in poverty in Northern Ireland that did not occur in the rest of the UK or the Republic of Ireland.  Whether that be the loss of economic capital through death, with 45 percent of people experiencing the death or injury of someone they knew personally (Tomlinson, 2013), or the collapse of the industrial heart base happening as violence increased in Northern Ireland (Smyth, 2020).  Patterns of highest deprivation and highest death rate are linked to areas of greatest segregation during the troubles (Smyth, 2020), persist even today (Department for Communities, 2024).

International comparisons 

In this research, we selected the Group of Twelve (G12) countries comprising Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (for which we identified data from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and the Republic of Ireland as a comparative framework for examining poverty in Northern Ireland due to their economic prominence and global impact.  The G12, consisting of some of the world's leading economies, provides a solid benchmark for evaluating social and economic indicators.  These nations not only encompass a variety of economic systems and welfare models but also offer a comprehensive view on how developed countries tackle socio-economic issues.  By comparing Northern Ireland’s poverty metrics with those of the G12, the other regions/countries of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland (17 countries/regions in total), we aim to place the region’s social inequalities within a wider international context, providing detailed insights into the effectiveness of current policies.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of these policies, we carried out a comparative analysis focusing on several key indicators of poverty and socio-economic well-being.  These indicators include average income, which reflects the overall economic status of households; child poverty, given its long-term effects on social mobility and well-being; education levels, as they are directly linked to employment opportunities and income stability; life expectancy, serving as a measure of health and living standards; and unemployment rates, which greatly influence income stability and social inclusion.  By analysing these variables, we sought to uncover patterns and disparities between Northern Ireland, the G12 countries, and the Republic of Ireland, thereby providing evidence-based recommendations for addressing poverty in Northern Ireland.  Data was drawn from the UK Office for National Statistics (2024), The World Bank, World Data Info (2023a; 2023b; 2023c; 2023d), Eurostat, Worldometer (2025a; 2025b; 2025c; 2025d; 2025e), the United Nations and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In terms of main international comparisons, it was noted that Northern Ireland ranks 16th lowest out of 17 countries when looking at the mean household income of workers ($36,900).  In comparison, those in the Republic of Ireland have $78,970 (3^rd highest), and in Belgium, the figure is $54,580 (8^th highest) (Our World in Data, 2024).  Northern Ireland has the lowest unemployment rate of these countries (1.6 percent) (Clark, 2025), compared to 4 per cent in the Republic of Ireland, 4.5 per cent in England and 7.3 per cent in France (Eurostat, 2025).  Northern Ireland ranks 14^th of 17, having one of the lowest life expectancies at birth (measured in years expected to live) compared to Japan (85 years), Spain (83 years) and the Republic of Ireland (82.7 years) (World Bank, 2025).

When it comes to child poverty Northern Ireland ranks 7th lowest out of the 17 countries with 18 percent of children living in poverty (Northern Ireland Audit Office, 2024).  This is lower than England, which is 30 per cent (Brown, 2024), but higher than the 15.2 per cent figure for the Republic of Ireland (Social Justice Ireland, 2023), and the US (12.4 percent) (Shrider and Creamer, 2023).  Measures of educational attainment are important as it is widely reported that education can provide a means to escape poverty and lead to increased levels of health (Tahir, 2022).  Lower educational outcomes are inextricably linked to poverty (Ibid).  In education, Northern Ireland ranks 10th highest in mathematics and 9th highest in reading attainment scores according to PISA 2022 measures (OECD, 2023a).  Compared to other European education systems, Northern Ireland's performance was mixed. Countries like Switzerland (2^nd in maths, 10^th in reading) (OECD, 2023c) and the Republic of Ireland (4^th in maths, 1^st in reading) (OECD, 2023b) surpassed Northern Ireland.  However, Germany (OECD, 2023d) and France (OECD, 2023e) had maths scores nearly identical to Northern Ireland’s, with slightly lower reading outcomes.

Recommendations

There is an urgent need to develop a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy in Northern Ireland with measurable targets.  The Department for Communities (2024) report that 349,000 people live in poverty in Northern Ireland.  Once the final version of the anti-poverty strategy is adopted then the framework for action needs to be resilient and robust in the face of a changing and sometimes unstable political climate in Northern Ireland.  This means a cross-community, cross-party approach to poverty developed and approved by the Northern Ireland Assembly that develops long-term solutions to poverty by developing a clear plan to eradicate poverty by the provision of financial aid packages to ensure all households have a monthly income of greater than £373 per week (the figure set by the government as being the threshold for living in poverty or not living in poverty).  For this to happen there will need to be reform of welfare policies and a movement away from neoliberal ideology underpinning these policies.  At the same time thought will need to be given to addressing health inequalities with significant financial investment into life-changing interventions in the poorest areas of Northern Ireland, where health inequalities are greatest.  It will be almost impossible to address health inequalities in Northern Ireland without addressing food poverty and ensuring that all families in Northern Ireland can live without food insecurity.

There are excellent data sets and a large number of published research reports on poverty in Northern Ireland.  It is proposed that undertaking historical and planned future high-quality analysis of Northern Ireland longitudinal data sets (e.g., health data, benefits data, school attainment data, population census data) to examine patterns of poverty and inequality, looking at how public policy and government decisions have influenced outcomes, and make similar comparisons to England, Scotland, Wales, the Republic of Ireland and suitable international countries.  Only through doing this will the government here be able to make informed assessments as to whether policy has had the desired impact.

Help for working families is essential to break poverty cycles.  Investment in, and support for, affordable childcare to ensure parents (especially those who may be primary caregivers) can take their place in the workforce and, by being economically active, increase their household income.  Ensuring there is affordable and effective transport and digital connectivity is also essential to ensure workers can afford to get to work, and make effective use of work from home policies.  This ultimately would lift many families out of poverty. At the same time improving the quality and availability of housing, ensuring affordable rental property is well insulated, energy efficient, and free from damp and mould.  This would reduce poverty, improve the health of the renting population and their children, and help the government meet targets on carbon emissions.  Finally, one of the most important areas for breaking inter-generational cycles of poverty is education.  Improving access to all forms of education, especially for disadvantaged groups, where publicly funded schools should educate a representative section of the communities they serve.  In essence, the Northern Ireland Assembly should set quotas for free school meal entry for grammar schools that are representative of the geographic areas in which they are situated.

The Northern Ireland Executive’s Anti-Poverty Strategy draft proposal has now been published and is subject to a consultation period (Department for Communities, 2025).  However, the draft Northern Ireland Executive’s Anti-Poverty Strategy has already been heavily criticised by Peter Bryson, the Head of Save the Children Northern Ireland, who was quoted as commenting,

“It (the draft Northern Ireland Executive’s Anti-Poverty Strategy) has no clear priorities, budget, action plan, milestones, or accountability for its delivery.  It recycles existing commitments, with no real clear link drawn to a deeply flawed description of the current drivers of poverty.  There’s no evidence that lessons have been learnt from past initiatives, no serious assessment of the drivers of poverty, and no engagement with the lived experience of children, families and communities” (McCarthy, 2025).

Initial analysis of the draft strategy (Northern Ireland Executive, 2025) indicates that the present draft lacks targets and milestones and will struggle to address issues of poverty in Northern Ireland in its current form.

Poverty has long been a persistent presence in society.  However, the neoliberal political policies implemented by successive UK governments, and indeed the Northern Ireland Assembly, have correlated with increased poverty levels for children and working adults (Department for Communities, 2023).  Further work is required to examine poverty and inequality and investigate their causes.  While low wages have been cited as being the major contributory cause (Doorley, Gubello, and Tuda, 2024), it is clear that welfare reform has coincided with increased poverty, increased inequality and reduced social mobility (Department for Communities, 2023).  There may be a need to levy additional tax on those who are most affluent in society.  This has led to calls for increased taxation on extreme wealth to increase funding for public services that can help to tackle persistent poverty (Oxfam, 2025).  However, this would require devolving more powers to Stormont from Westminster (Devlin, 2022).  Only when there is coordinated, sustained cross-community, cross-sectoral and cross-party support for an effective anti-poverty strategy will these persistent deprivations be addressed.

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Canan Ozkaya completed her PhD at Queen’s University Belfast, based in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work.  Her doctoral research explored the experiences of high-attaining girls in STEM education through the dual lenses of gender theory and the Capabilities Approach.  With a strong commitment to social justice, her work critically examines structural inequalities in educational achievement and opportunity.  Canan’s broader academic interests include gender equity, inclusive education, and educational policy.  Her research contributes to ongoing debates on how education systems can support the full development of young women’s capabilities in traditionally male-dominated disciplines.

Qurat ul Ain is a PhD researcher in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast.  Her research focuses on peer tutoring and its effects on students’ academic performance and metacognitive development.  She is particularly skilled in quantitative methodologies and data synthesis, with an interest in translating research findings into effective educational policies and practices.  Her work contributes to understanding how collaborative learning strategies can enhance student achievement and engagement.  Qurat’s academic interests include educational psychology, intervention research, and evidence-informed policymaking in education systems.

Allen Thurston is Professor of Education at the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB).  His current research projects are researching how to raise attainment for those students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.  He predominantly uses randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and is currently running four large RCTs on improving literacy levels/health for students in schools spread across South Africa, Chile, Colombia, and the United Kingdom.  He has published a significant body of work on cooperative learning in reading, having published 140+ manuscripts in this area.  He has received the American Educational Research Association Special Interest Group Cooperative Learning Award for outstanding research in the field of cooperative learning. He was Chair of this SIG from 2021-2025. He is currently running cooperative learning initiatives with the Queen’s Widening Participation Unit aimed at helping students from high socioeconomic disadvantage areas gain their GCSE in mathematics.  He was elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in October 2023.