Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon, and the staff of his office on the publication of the A Better Normal report. It is a very important report and I welcome the opportunity to debate it. I am glad to hear the Minister will meet the ombudsman in the coming weeks to discuss the report.

The report points to the need for urgent political and cross-departmental action and planning for children post Covid. In particular, it calls for the establishment of a cross-departmental time-limited joint Oireachtas committee to address child poverty and homelessness. I hope the Minister will implement that and that all Deputies will be able to join with him in implementing it because clearly this is an issue that requires a cross-departmental and whole-of-government approach, beyond the brief of the Minister and clearly encompassing the Department of Social Protection, Department of Education and Department of Health. That is clear from the report. Indeed, it is clear that is needed if we are to further the recommendations of the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures review by the Minister's Department.

On the issue of poverty, the CSO has published alarming figures.

The Minister stated that 8.1% of children in Ireland live in consistent poverty. The ombudsman's report points out that Ireland has missed its 2020 target of reducing by 70,000 the number of children in consistent poverty. In addition to that stark figure, we also know that the CSO figures show that 15.3% of children are at risk of poverty and 23.3% of children are experiencing basic deprivation. This really is a huge problem and failing in our system. Perhaps we might recall the words of the famous Irish suffragette and renowned activist on the areas of poverty alleviation and children's rights, Dr. Kathleen Lynn, who said her work was underpinned by a belief that "every child was an individual and must know himself, or herself, loved". The State should be guaranteeing this commitment to children by guaranteeing equality and a high minimum standard of living for all.

I wish to refer to homelessness and Housing First, and then to education and where we need to do more to ensure that we are living up to the commitments in these reports and in the review of the Minister's Department. We know that fear of, and real risk of, homelessness is damaging our children at key developmental periods of their lives. Yesterday, we debated the Residental Tenancies (Tenants' Rights) Bill 2021. We were glad that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage did not oppose that Bill. I have already contacted the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to ensure that the Bill will be making further progress through the committee. We are most anxious to ensure that it becomes law. The Bill seeks to address security of tenure, affordability of rents and deposits and quality of accommodation for those in the rental sector. These are crucial issues for children in particular.

We know that three in ten children under the age of 18 are living in rented accommodation, according to the recent census. Focus Ireland tells us that the biggest cause of families entering homelessness is the sale of houses by landlords, with vacant possession thereby ending tenancies. We need to stop this practice. I am aware that it is one of the aims of the Government's own Housing for All plan. The Government is seeking to legislate for tenancies of indefinite duration. Our Bill would provide for that and could, if implemented, play a huge part in addressing the real fear of eviction. It is the fear of eviction that we have heard, from so many individual constituents and respondents to our Labour survey, has such an impact. One respondent who spoke to us last week and who is renting a home from a private landlord, told us of her fears that her children might be without a home upon the impending expiration of the lease. Another spoke of her fear of the health impacts of staying at home with her children in rental accommodation with fungus on the walls and a serious damp problem.

Children across Ireland are facing real impacts on their health and well-being because of poor-quality rental accommodation and fear of eviction. A Labour Party Bill introduced previously by my colleague, former Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, specifically sought to address the impact of homelessness upon children. The Green Party, when in opposition, supported that Bill. I ask that the Department, in collaboration with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, brings that legislation forward, because we need to ensure that children are protected against homelessness and the fear of homelessness.

On schooling and education, the ombudsman has made recommendations in this area. Indeed, the extent of the recommendations shows the need for a strong intervention from the Department of Education on this issue and for a cross-departmental committee. In February, alongside my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, I proposed a catch-up for children scheme. I proposed that the Government put forward €100 million to address the severe impacts upon children from prolonged school closures due to Covid-19. This fund, in addition to making up for lost education, would also seek to ensure children were caught up with on extracurricular activities, such as sporting activities and the arts, and, indeed, personal and social development. We know, in particular, that children who are vulnerable, living in poverty or have particular needs have suffered real set backs in their development because of the closures of schools and associated activities. We were most disappointed to find that the catch-up fund that was much more belatedly announced by the Minister for Education falls far too short of what we believe will be needed to ensure that children's development is not severely impacted on as a result of the Covid restrictions.

As I have said, we support the Office of the Ombudsman for Children in calling for the establishment of a dedicated committee to address these issues, including issues around the impact upon children of Covid restrictions, poverty and homelessness. We must ensure that real, substantive actions are taken and that these are taken on a universal level for all children, not on the piecemeal basis that unfortunately has characterised far too much of Government policy on children and children's rights for too long. The UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is coming up on 17 October. We think that the Oireachtas should mark the occasion by demonstrating our commitment to ending poverty for children, in particular, by establishing such a committee, as recommended by the Ombudsman for Children.

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