It is time to #Remove2ChildLimit

The Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network is a member of the Cliff Edge Coalition, and campaigns with others to highlight the need for immediate changes to the social security system. Amongst the “Three Key Asks” of the Cliff Edge Coalition is the Removal of the 2 Child Limit.

The following press release was issued by the Cliff Edge Coalition to welcome news of an Assembly motion aimed to remove the 2 Child Limit, and to encourage MLA’s across the political spectrum to support it.

The Cliff Edge Coalition has welcomed news that the second Opposition Day in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday 16 April will focus on how to address the causes of poverty and combat its effects.

The Coalition is particularly encouraged to see the motion on ending the two-child limit in Northern Ireland – a policy which restricts social security support for families with more than two children and has been a key contributor to the rising rates of child poverty in Northern Ireland.

With recent statistics all pointing to increasing rates of poverty across Northern Ireland, the Cliff Edge Coalition is urging Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly to come together and support this motion to remove a policy which has plunged so many families into poverty.

Siobhán Harding from the Women’s Support Network and a spokesperson for the Cliff Edge Coalition, said:

“Poverty is blighting the lives of thousands of people in Northern Ireland and there has never been a more urgent need to address its causes and effects. The Cliff Edge Coalition is clear that removal of the two-child limit is a good place to start. One in ten children in Northern Ireland are affected by the policy and those numbers will only continue to rise if action is not taken immediately. We strongly urge our MLAs to act now and support this motion which hopefully will mark the beginning of the end of the two-child limit policy in Northern Ireland.”

Read the Cliff Edge Coalition’s briefing paper here.

Call on your MLA’s to support the motion in the Assembly to Remove the 2 Child Limit, and pressure your MP to speak loudly against the 2 Child Limit in Westminster.

Find out more about The Cliff Edge Coalition here.