Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am representing the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands. The Cathaoirleach, Deputy Naughten, is not available today and I am delighted to appear on his behalf and on behalf of the committee.

I will start first by referencing the long-awaited policy on the islands that was released recently. It is a substantial piece of work that was eagerly awaited. If we are serious about maintaining a viable population on our offshore islands, substantial supports need to be put in place so that people can live their lives in a way that preserves the unique tradition and unique heritage that we have on our offshore islands.

I want to turn to the committee's core work, which is poverty. We have set out ambitious targets in the roadmap for social integration to tackle poverty. On our committee we strongly feel that you tackle poverty by going after it where you find it. That is predominantly among children, in particular those of lone parents. I very much welcome that the Taoiseach mentions in his opening statement that he wishes to make child poverty and well-being a core theme of the budget.

He has committed to setting up a child poverty and well-being programme office within his Department. My committee made a number of recommendations in this area in our pre-budget submission: increasing the qualified child payment for under-12s, raising qualified child increases, QCIs, for under-12s; adequately providing social welfare support for those children most at risk of poverty; considering the extension of the jobseeker's transitional payment, particularly for lone parents; and reducing the jobseeker's replacement rate, particularly among lone parents, by increasing in-work measures, for example, childcare subsidies and housing assistance payments. We know it is not all about direct transfers within the social welfare system. The committee called for the long-standing Green Party policy of school meals to be provided to every child in the State. We also called for the Government to consider making the universal child benefit payment, which is made to other children within the State, available to people in direct provision, where we know there is a great deal of poverty.