Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I am sure it will be a great relief to the 111,129 children in poverty to know that they are not really in poverty at all but that the data merely changed. From a more realistic point of view, can the Minister tell us whether an independent framework will be put in place to measure progress on the new targets set out in NAPinclusion in order to ensure that they are achieved within the given timeframe?

Although this may be under the remit of the Minister for Health and Children, is there a group within the Cabinet which deals with child poverty in a holistic way, so that all of the areas of Government that must be included in order to address this issue, including education, housing and social welfare, may work together in a coherent way rather than leaving the individual Departments to do their own thing? That is part of the strategy, but how can we independently ensure it is achieved?

Does the Minister agree with the comments of the End Child Poverty Coalition which described Ireland as having one of the worst records on child poverty in Europe, or what are his views on it?

Has the Minister given consideration to encouraging greater uptake of the FIS and ensuring that people are fully aware of it, and is there any possibility of using the data available to automatically let people know they are eligible for FIS without having to formally make an application?

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