James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I wish to highlight a number of things. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is unique in the manner in which it interacts with all other Departments regarding child and youth issues. Officials from the Departments of Justice and Equality, Health, and Education and Skills are permanently seconded to us. I am sure the Deputy will acknowledge that education is a major factor in helping people get out of the cycle of poverty. People who stay in education have better outcomes in terms of employment and income.

The Government's support for children and families amounts to €2.3 billion in 2014. This investment has had the effect of reducing the rate of risk of poverty among children from 45% to 19%, a reduction of 59%. This is among the best performances in reducing child poverty in the EU. As well as additional expenditure, budget 2015 committed to investing an additional €96 million in children's services. The UNICEF report relates to 2008 to 2012. These things have happened and much progress has been made, but by no means enough. I fully concur with the Deputy on the need for great co-operation across our Departments, which we have. We regularly meet people from the Department of Social Protection to discuss this.

The best way to tackle child poverty is to get people back to work. Children do not exist on their own; they exist in families. If their families can improve their situation by having a job and a steady income coming into the family home, that is the way forward. We have created 70,000 jobs since 2012. I do not want to turn this into any sort of political broadcast, but it is our intention to continue to focus on the area of better outcomes for our children.

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