“Driving Change: Kildare’s Child Poverty Initiative Marks Major Milestones”
In 2024, the Department of Children, Equality and Disability (DCED) allocated €756,000 through the Dormant Accounts–funded What Works initiative to establish four two‑year Local Area Child Poverty Action Plan pilots. These pilots form a core element of Ireland’s European Child Guarantee National Action Plan.
Kildare was selected as one of the four pilot sites. In response, Kildare CYPSC and Kildare LCDC—supported by Sláintecare Healthy Communities Athy—established the Kildare Child Poverty Initiative (KCPI). The initiative aims to deepen understanding of the drivers of poverty and disadvantage in County Kildare, with a particular focus on improving access to supports and services for neurodivergent children and young people living in disadvantaged communities.
On 14 November 2025, Lara Hynes, Assistant Secretary at DCED, officially launched The Kildare Poverty Profile, marking the completion of a key component of the Kildare Poverty Action Plan. The findings reveal extensive hidden disadvantage across the county, impacting more than 77,000 people. Notably, one in four children in Kildare are living in areas experiencing disadvantage. The profile also highlights the growing pressures faced by families of neurodivergent children.
On 20 January 2026, members of the KCPI Steering Group, supported by representatives from Kildare LCDC and Kildare CYPSC, participated in the Local Area Child Poverty Action Plan Progress Update event at the Department of Children, Equality and Disability. During the session, Emma Berney (Kildare CYPSC) and Maria Healy (Sláintecare Healthy Communities Athy) presented the key outputs and achievements of the KCPI in 2025 and outlined priority actions planned for implementation in 2026.
Their presentation was followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with colleagues from other pilot sites and researchers from the University of Limerick, who are leading the national evaluation of the programme. Representing the KCPI in this discussion were Emma Berney and Sarah Shakespeare (Teach Dara FRC, Kildare Town).
The Kildare Child Poverty Profile can be found here Kildare Child Poverty Profile