Dr. Nat O'Connor:

I thank the Cathaoirleach for the invitation to address the committee on the topic of eliminating consistent poverty. The Community Platform is an alliance of 31 national networks and organisations working to reduce poverty, social exclusion and inequality. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, publishes annual poverty statistics. In the latest figures, one in 20 people lives in consistent poverty, the highest rate since 2019 when it was 5.5%. Yet, the current roadmap for social inclusion, which was launched in 2020, aimed to reduce consistent poverty to 2%. This strategy is failing. The same strategy aims to reduce the number of children in consistent poverty from 92,000 to 22,000 by the end of this year. Last year, however, the number of children in poverty increased by more than over 20,000 to nearly 105,000. That is one in every 12 children. As of September, the Government’s new target is to reduce child consistent poverty to 3% or less by the end of 2030. Without a coherent strategy, why should we believe this will happen?

Following budget 2026, the Parliamentary Budget Office stated that children’s poverty will be higher this year and next year compared to 2024. While one in 20 people lives in consistent poverty, the figures are higher for groups more vulnerable to poverty. The rate is one in 12 among children; one in nine among lone parents and their children; and one in five among those unable to work due to illness or disability. National-level statistics do not give data on smaller groups, such as Travellers, Roma or people in direct provision who, we know from other sources. experience high levels of poverty and deprivation.

A link to our recent report, What Would It Take to Eliminate Consistent Poverty by 2030?, has been sent to all committee members. We hope members and their teams will take the time to read it. Unfortunately, the poverty statistics for 2024 are worse than what is included in the report from the previous year. The report summarises the experience of the 31 member organisations of the Community Platform, all of which work with communities of people who live in consistent poverty. The voices of people living in poverty are also quoted throughout the report. They include one older person who said, “I live a very isolated life because of money problems.”

Our report has six recommendations. The first is to recommit to the goal of eliminating consistent poverty. This was the national target in 2002 and 2007 but was diluted later. We are asking all politicians to recommit to a national target of the elimination of consistent poverty. We need a new approach that is more targeted towards communities that are trapped in intergenerational poverty.

Related to that, the second recommendation is that the social inclusion strategy needs to once again be an anti-poverty strategy focused on the structural reasons that so many people have insufficient money to meet their basic needs. We need more analysis in the strategy of why some groups of people, such as lone-parent families, Travellers or disabled people, always have much higher rates of consistent poverty. This committee has an especially important role in asking questions of the Minister for Social Protection about the next strategy, which his Department is currently developing.

Third, we are not here today simply to ask for across-the-board welfare increases. We have seen these before, yet the same people still get left behind. Our report recommends targeted interventions with all the groups of people who are always on the lowest incomes. Different interventions are needed for each group. Lone-bparent families need more help with childcare costs, while disabled people need extra funds to cover the costs associated with their specific disabilities. Others include people fleeing domestic abuse, users of Irish Sign Language, the long-term unemployed, family carers and so on. Each group needs targeted interventions that address their specific needs. A multidimensional approach is needed that takes account of access to public services, access to good employment, discrimination and other factors, as well as income. In particular, access to quality, affordable and sustainable public services, such as housing, education, transport, care and healthcare, would greatly reduce the cost of living.

Fourth, the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 emphasises that a good job is the best route out of poverty. We agree, but it cannot be the only route out of poverty. Not everyone can get a decently paid full-time job. We need to support those who can only work part time and those who cannot get paid work due to disability or care duties. Being born with a disability should not mean a life in consistent poverty, but that is the reality for too many people. We need to see a return to the focus on income adequacy that was in earlier national anti-poverty strategies. The roadmap for social inclusion also discusses the rationale for benchmarking welfare rates, which is common across Europe and the OECD. It was recommended by the Commission on Taxation and Welfare and has been called for by voluntary organisations for many years.

Fifth, international studies show that reducing wealth inequality helps to reduce poverty. Ireland has a high level of wealth inequality, with the top 10% holding two thirds of all wealth. A small fraction of the wealth held by the top 10% would eliminate consistent poverty.

Our sixth recommendation is that there should be a renewed focus on eliminating deprivation. From the latest survey on poverty, we know that one in 12 people went without heating at some stage in the last year and one in 20 could not keep their homes adequately warm; 3.7% of people could not afford a roast every week; and 1.8% could not afford protein in their meal, such as meat, fish or equivalent, every second day. This is basic poverty that should not exist in a country as wealthy as Ireland. No one should be unable to afford a minimum essential level of heat and food.

The rates of material deprivation are much higher among lone parents and their children, disabled people and others more vulnerable to poverty. While the main focus should be on ensuring everyone has an adequate income from benchmarked welfare and access to public services, there is also a role for targeted supports to ensure that no one experiences basic material deprivation, from fuel allowance through to the working family payment. It is not just about the rate of those payments but also about access to them, such as income disregards and other qualifying criteria.

We ask committee members to intervene in the development of the next national anti-poverty strategy to ensure that it is evidence-based and credible as a plan to eliminate consistent poverty by 2030. I thank them for their attention. We are happy to take any questions.