Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The reduction and eventual elimination of child poverty is a national priority and is at the core of the strategic process to combat poverty and social exclusion as set out in Towards 2016, the national action plan for social inclusion, NAPinclusion, and the social inclusion commitments in the NDP.

One of the 12 high-level goals set out in the NAPinclusion focuses on achieving significant real increases in income supports for children, while three others address education initiatives. In addition, the detailed action targets cover services such as health, education, income support, early childhood development and care, as well as sport and leisure and participation programmes, to ensure that children reach their true potential and parents are supported in providing care for them.

Children growing up in low-income or jobless households are the most vulnerable to poverty. A high proportion of such households are composed of larger families with three or more children, as well as those headed by lone parents. The responsibilities involved in providing proper care for children can create obstacles for parents in taking up employment that provides a decent income for their families. The NAPinclusion addresses this by providing for a case management approach that will encompass, in an integrated manner, appropriate income support, child care services and education and training to enable parents to overcome these obstacles. National and international evidence shows that employment participation is the main route out of poverty.

The social welfare commitments in the programme for Government prioritise the objectives of the NAPinclusion. They include improvements in support for lone parents as well as in the carer's allowance, child benefit, back to school clothing and footwear allowance and the school meals programme. Child care provision, preschool facilities, family services and housing provision to meet the diverse needs of the population are further key Government commitments to better support families.

Significant progress has been made in reducing child poverty and material deprivation. The latest EU survey on income and living conditions, EU-SILC, shows, for example, that in the period 2003 to 2005, the proportion of children in consistent poverty has reduced from 12.2% in 2003 to 10.2% in 2005. I am confident the Government can maintain and build on that progress in the next ten years as a key part of achieving the overall goal in the NAPinclusion to reduce consistent poverty to between 4% and 2% by 2012 with the aim of eliminating it by 2016.

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