Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In early July, the Government approved the establishment of Cabinet Committee B which will primarily cover the areas of Social Policy and Public Service Reform. The new committee met for the first time on Monday, 11 September.

The committee provides a forum to ensure that relevant Departments work together to deliver on commitments in the programme for partnership Government in areas such as education, children, equality, social inclusion, supports for particular vulnerable groups and continued improvements and reform of public services.

The work of this committee will help realise the Government's ambition to provide opportunities to everyone living in Ireland of all ages and backgrounds to participate fully and benefit from a recovering economy.

Some of the particular initiatives this committee will focus on include improved child care services, implementation of the action plan for educational disadvantage - I am pleased there have been significant improvements in the number of people with disabilities and the number of people from non-traditional backgrounds entering higher education - and improving services to people with disabilities. While social welfare income supports continue to be an important part of reducing child poverty rates in Ireland, achieving real progress in this area will also require improved access to public services, particularly early years and continuing education, reducing the cost of accessing services and increasing the number of parents who are at work.

The work of the committee will complement other approaches, including bilateral meetings with Ministers to discuss and progress priority issues within their areas of responsibility.

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