Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Of the 800,000 or so of our fellow citizens who live in poverty, approximately 250,000 of them are children. This question refers to the EU-SILC report that we received recently. The at risk of poverty rate for one-parent families was up four points to 36% and the consistent poverty rate for lone-parent families was up from 22% to 26%. The deprivation was also highest for that group of families, at 58%. What is the Minister and the Minister for Social Protection, who is sitting beside her and who has a huge responsibility in this area, planning to do, if the Government is still in place later into 2017? Will it come up with a response to these disappointing and worrying figures?

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