Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is right, the latest figures come from 2014 and show 11.2% of children in consistent poverty. The Minister says that things will have changed by now because we have not taken into account developments since 2014. What disturbs me somewhat is that the figure moved from 11.7% down to 11.2% over the period referred to during which there was substantial improvement in the economy. Can the Minister give us any indication when he will have updated figures on this so we can pursue these matters properly? It was the Government's policy to take 70,000 children out of consistent poverty by 2020. The figure has been revised to 94,000. Could the Minister explain why? I presume it is because the poverty line has changed with increases in income. Is the Minister optimistic that he will achieve that target by 2020?

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