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

We all know where it went wrong and there is no doubt about that with regard to the last Government. Family homelessness and child poverty are two issues that the Government takes very seriously. There is a regular meeting of Cabinet dealing with social policy and the issue of homelessness is discussed at every one. I go to all of them. The Deputy mentioned the link between jobs and poverty, and I reiterate my previous comments. A household is seven times more likely to experience poverty if the householders are jobless. The Deputy has rightly pointed out that there are additional supports for people on low pay. This Government restored the minimum wage, and the last budget, as adjudicated by independent authorities, was demonstrated to be particularly supportive of families with children.

I am not by any means clapping ourselves on the back at all and there is much work to do to address inequity in our society. We have much to do to address child poverty. I can say the rate has fallen from 11.7% to 11.2%, which may not be statistically significant, but it is travelling in the right direction. It is not travelling fast enough. We are committed to continuing to address this. In 2016, we want a republic that cherishes all its children equally.

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