Northern Ireland

36%
of households cannot afford three or more basic necessities

In this section you will find information about our work in Northern Ireland, including our work with an innovative participatory research project, Communities in Action (CiA). This collaboration is between the PSE team, the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (CFNI) and eight community groups. These groups represent a number of communities across the region, facing social and economic deprivation.

In 2012 Queen’s University and the Open University teamed up with the CFNI to support people living in deprived communities to document life on low income and to make short films based on their local research. Watch some of the Community produced films here and visit the CFNI Communities in Action section for more films and information about the projects and themes.

These films are the copyright of the respective community groups and CiA Collaboration.

The situation in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has higher levels of multiple deprivation than the rest of the UK with over a third of the population living on or below the breadline. 29% of households are ‘sometimes skimping’ or going without food so that others in their household will have enough to eat. 7% of households can’t afford regular fresh fruit and vegetables.

People are struggling to heat their homes across Northern Ireland and 10% of families live in damp homes. Almost a fifth cannot afford to keep their homes in a decent state of decoration. For many people on low incomes the situation is set to get worse, as the cost of living continues to rise and wages continue a three year decline and benefits begin to fall behind inflation.

We would all like to feed wee ones fresh vegetables and fresh fruit and have the best for them - but the reality is, we just can’t afford to do it.

Parent, Northern Ireland

Queen’s University leads the PSE research in Northern Ireland and has extensive networks with the wider voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland. These organisations are routinely kept up to date on the progress of the PSE via project News Bulletins. CFNI has also acted as one point of contact for the recruitment of participants for a PSE qualitative study into families living in low income in Northern Ireland. If you are interested in future community collaborations with Queen's University, contact Mike Tomlinson or Grace Kelly.

If you are involved in a community research project and want to share your findings with us, please contact us.

 

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