Updated 11.50
The gap between rich and poor in Ireland is now four times the OECD average - with young people facing a "lifetime" of poverty.
That's according to a new study by the think-tank, which has found that incomes in the average Irish household fell by 50%.
It says that lower income families lost a greater proportion of their income than the better-off in the recession and warns the gap will continue to grow in the years ahead.
Dr Niamh Hourican is a professor of Sociology at UCC. She says the study is a huge concern:The report also warns that parents trying to get back into the workforce need subsidised childcare.
The think-tank has found that Ireland has the most expensive child-minding costs in the world, along with the US.
The Department of Children says low-income parents qualify for support schemes, if they take part in certain training courses.
The figures show a family with two children spends 40% of their average wage on childcare.
Labour TD Joanna Tuffy admits a lot more needs to be done to ease the pressure on parents:
