Ms Niamh Kelly:

I will address a couple of the other areas the Deputy mentioned. She referred to the hot school meals programme. I agree that it should be available more widely and that it is a key way to tackle food poverty among families with whom we work. The Deputy's point in respect of DEIS schools is key. This relates not just to hot school meals, but to all supports offered through DEIS. We know that more than half the children who are experiencing disadvantage are not in a DEIS school and do not have access to those supports. We would like to see a system that follow the child so that the children who are disadvantaged but in a non-DEIS school would still have access to those supports. We would like schools that do not have cooking facilities to be able to access the national development plan to retrofit the schools and get better cooking and dining facilities. The introduction of a hot school meal programme in a school has a twofold effect on food poverty. The children get fed in school, but they also may be able to participate in the preparation of food and see the preparation of healthy food. That has a kind of sustainable impact on food poverty.

I refer to the Deputy's remarks on local authority housing. The UN rapporteur on housing spoke last year in Ireland and particularly highlighted the impoverished living conditions of one-parent families. In recent years, it has become an increasingly big issue for the families with whom we work. They have lower rates of home ownership, but also poorer quality of housing. In the context of homeless figures, one-parent families feature heavily. They make up approximately 20% to 25% of families in Ireland but, up until last summer, they represented approximately 50% to 60% of families living in homelessness. I highlight to the committee that the figures on homelessness have not been disaggregated since last summer for two-parent and one-parent families. That is leaving us a little blind and we would like it to be changed such that the figures are divided and show us the picture in respect of one-parent families.

A policy blind spot in terms of housing and throughout the system is that of shared parenting families. We see families where there might not be a formal custody arrangement but dad has custody of the children for half the time and enters into homeless accommodation but cannot access appropriate accommodation for their children. The same is true throughout the housing system. Shared parenting families find it very difficult to access housing for both parents that is suitable for the children. That is really important to maintain the shared parenting relationship. Throughout the system, shared parenting is very much a blind spot. When it comes to housing, social protection and all other areas, people are viewed as either a lone parent or a single adult. That has detrimental effects for the children.

In terms of housing policy, we support what the Deputy said. We definitely need more accommodation built by local authorities and approved housing bodies. We would really like to see a reduction in the over-reliance on the private rental sector to provide social housing. This is a big problem for the families with whom we work because, as all present are aware, top-ups are an issue and the rate of housing assistance payment, HAP, does not always meet the full needs of a property. For a one-parent family, trying to meet that top-up payment is an additional burden. One-parent families are further disadvantaged compared with two-parent families in that situation. As part of, or linking in with, an overall child poverty strategy, we would like to see a family homelessness strategy that addresses some of these concerns and some of the issues arising for one-parent families. Such a strategy would need to speak to and interact with a child poverty strategy such that the two are aligned and working towards the same goals on housing.