Mr. Niall Egan:

It was not only that. The Taoiseach’s Department also helped to co-ordinate the process. It brought in representatives of the CSO to help with the analysis and the work in relation to it in other Departments as well. That helped us to prepare analysis in relation to the child poverty target. We would have a pre-meeting in advance of the budget each year as well with the child poverty and well-being unit. We have an input too, like every Government Department has, and there is a request immediately after the budget concerning the measures contained in our social welfare budget, such as in the 2026 package, for example. This feeds into the Department of the Taoiseach. It pulls together an annual report reflecting on the child poverty measures and well-being measures contained in each budget and that will be published shortly thereafter. There is very regular ongoing engagement. There are also many conversations, Cabinet committee meetings and senior official group meetings where these issues are discussed in advance. Members of our steering group are on the roadmap for social inclusion group. We work very closely in that context. They are active members in this regard as well.

In terms of the six areas the Department is focused on, this is part of its programme plan. The first area is income support and joblessness, and we obviously have a very significant part to play in that regard. The second area is early learning and childcare. The third is the cost of education. The fourth is family homelessness. The fifth is service integration and the sixth is participation in arts, culture and sport. These are the six thematic areas the child poverty and well-being unit is focusing on. This is part of its programme plan, which is divided across those six areas.