Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry that I am, unfortunately, coming late to the meeting. I was in the Seanad. I did not get to hear most of our guests' presentations but I am very familiar with the work they do. Indeed, I sent many families to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul through the years and I thank its representatives for all they do in respect of food poverty for families. There are so many wonderful organisations out there, particularly in County Meath, where there is the Meath Food Bank. Ken Smollen in Offaly does great work and delivers to 1,200 families every single month. There is real child poverty out there.

Wearing my other hat, before I was a Senator, I was a county councillor but I also was a foster parent. I saw real child poverty coming through my door on many occasions. The first thing you noticed was the food the children ate and the personal grooming of the children in poverty. As a person from a stable background with full family support, you could tell the children who came from an impoverished household. From their personal grooming and their diet, you could tell that money was not around to support the child growing up into a health lifestyle.

What we really need are far more supports for families and parents. How do we support these parents to help them be better parents and guardians of children? If we do not get that right, we will never be able to fix the issue in respect of poverty. We have to train parents to be better parents. There is family support available from Tusla but people run a mile from that organisation. They do not want to get involved in that even though the supports are there for families. They just do not want to pick up the phone to call Tusla and tell it they are struggling and need help.

The type of housing is a major consideration with child poverty, as well as the communities in which these people live. I agree 100% with Deputy Murnane O'Connor about a hot meals programme being available in all schools. There are people we might think are not impoverished but I assure the committee there are examples in middle class Ireland as well. They pay all the bills but they may not have the necessities to feed their family.

I had an issue with one particular child who came into my care. I will not give a name but she was a 12-year-old girl. I would never have considered the issue but she came in with a hoodie and tracksuit bottoms. She had no other clothing because she came in the middle of the night. The following day, after getting to know her a little bit, I went shopping with her. She told me she is not like the other girls in her class because she does not have any money to get her hair or nails done or wear nice clothes. Everything is a hand-me-down. She said she does not identify as a boy or a girl yet. I said "look it, you are just you for now". I brought her into a shop and the first section she went to was the girls' clothing, where she picked out all these lovely girls' clothes she wanted to buy. I never really thought that poverty could play a part in determining one's gender in life. She was wearing hand-me-downs from her brother and that is all she was getting at home. She had not looked for girls' clothing as a result. As soon as she got the opportunity, she went to buy the little tops and cardigans, along with a pair of trousers. I wondered if children are choosing a gender because they are living in poverty. Could that be a reason for children having gender identity issues? I never really associated poverty with gender identity issues until that very moment. It was certainly an eye-opener for me.

I do not know how we can address that. Is there a programme for young girls so we can support them with clothing appropriate to their age? I know there are various charity shops, including the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Do they get much clothing for young teenage girls or is it mainly for adults? Perhaps the witnesses could address those matters?