Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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We hope to get this done before the end of the summer. A lot of work has been done on it, so we are hoping to get it published in July or August. Youth work is very much a focus for us. I have been able to significantly increase the budget, though when I met with national youth organisations yesterday they set a high bar for budget 2025. The Leas-Chathaoirleach is right in terms of its ability to impact the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people. We want to meet their needs while at the same time also making youth work an option for all young people. We think that quality youth work can benefit all young people, be they from a disadvantaged background or not. Trying to get those two goals is always a challenge but it is one we are working on.

One of the things we spoke about yesterday was recruitment and retention of youth workers in youth services. Setting out clear career pathways for youth workers is particularly important and valuable. I take the point on legal costs. This is something on which I can engage with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. I have a strong engagement with the trade unions on an individualised basis in terms of their engagement in early years and the pay agreements and the employment regulation order. I spoke at SIPTU's early years union AGM about two months ago. I had a really good meeting there and we discussed what we had been able to do. There is a strong recognition within the organisation of the improvements and of the employment regulation order being a huge step forward in terms of better pay for childcare professionals, albeit while recognising that they are still underpaid and that there is still more work to be done in the area.

I also engaged with the unions in terms of the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, subgroup that covers my Department, early years and much of the equality legislation. The work-life balance directive and the gender pay gap were discussed with the unions and employer representatives. Representatives from the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, IBEC, and the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, ISME, attended. We had good engagements with them. I recognise the importance of the trade union movement for the rights of workers and for the protection of wider rights as well.

The child poverty unit in the Department of the Taoiseach is working really well. It has allowed for a greater focus on the issue of child poverty in budget 2024. Our big initiative on child poverty was the introduction of the equal start programme which will be rolled out from September. Another important element was the broadening of the school meals programme. If we are to have a meaningful impact on child poverty then we have to be talking about the issue before the budget. At our next meeting of the Cabinet committee on education, children and disability, we have an item on child poverty because it is now that Departments are really focusing on what their asks are for the Estimates process. Having that meeting at which child poverty is an item is important. I can say what I am thinking of doing and all the relevant Ministers will be in the room at the same time. We will probably not be able to do all our initiatives but it allows us to focus on what elements of child poverty we want to prioritise this year.