Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take this opportunity to welcome Deputy Bacik to the House. I have not been in her presence in the Chamber because of the manner in which the Dáil has been meeting. She is welcome.

I thank the Minister for his introductory remarks. They were thought-provoking and most welcome. As the former Chair of the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs, I had the privilege of meeting with Dr. Muldoon and his team on many occasions. This report is crucial in ensuring that we refocus on the incredibly important issues of eliminating poverty and child homelessness.

There are, perhaps, few more important issues that occupy public debate than those concerning our children and the future of society. I welcome the initiative launched by the Ombudsman for Children. Child poverty and homelessness are intolerable and we must all strive to alleviate the pressure on those affected. It is often said that the best way to judge a society is to inspect how the most vulnerable among us are treated. Fundamental to this notion is that we are aware of the vulnerability. For many generations on this island, children were not seen and not heard. Thankfully, today we recognise the role of children and young people, but there is considerable work to be done to increase their influence. It did not start in 2012, but the constitutional referendum was a step in the right direction in placing children at the heart of our Constitution.

Children account for 25% of our population and are often overlooked. At any moment there are a great number of interests pressing on Government. This is the nature of politics. In such a climate where those without a voice or platform can easily be overlooked, as Members of this House we must use our platform to give them a voice.

A Better Normal, as proposed by the Ombudsman for Children, should be regarded as a starting point. Eradicating child poverty and homelessness will involve both a multifaceted approach on the part of and commitment from successive Governments. The Covid pandemic has uprooted all of our lives and we have become all too familiar with concepts and behaviour which, just a short time ago, would have been unfathomable. Children are not exempt from this experience. Their education has been curtailed dramatically. Their ability to engage with friends and relatives ceased and they too have become familiar with the cold and clinical language that has been introduced to our society over this period. The pandemic also hit low-income families hard, preventing regular income and reliable work patterns and left many families struggling to make ends meet. A recent ESRI report on child poverty in Ireland and the pandemic recession suggested that even in a scenario of partial economic recovery, child poverty rates could rise by 3% to 19%. Moreover, the Irish Youth Foundation noted that of the 40,000 babies born in Ireland during the pandemic, 8,000 left hospital to enter into deprivation, and many into homelessness.

In such a modern society in a country that has seen unprecedented economic gains in its recent history, it is natural for us to ask how this can be. Speaking in 1968, Robert Kennedy remarked that "the gross domestic product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play". This, I believe, is a noteworthy idea in the context of this debate. For children, poverty affects so much more than their living arrangements. It affects their self-esteem and their ability to engage with their peers. It affects their ability to learn and to access quality food. Their mental health is also impacted. This is a situation no child born on this island should endure. No child should wake up in the morning and feel the dread of economic despair, hunger, or indeed, alienation from the society that they believe has forgotten them, to go through their youth as a spectator with no hope of influencing their surroundings. We in this House, through our ambition and actions, should give them the confidence which many suffering the pain of poverty lack.

We can make a profound difference for young people and their families who find themselves in these circumstances.

The initiative, A Better Normal, sets out several goals for us to achieve. Among them are the development of time-limited cross-departmental agendas to address the issues of child poverty and homelessness, the holding of a referendum on the right to housing, continued support for and expansion of free school dinners. I am pleased that 1,500 schools are involved in providing free school meals. Several of them are in Fingal, which the Minister has rightly highlighted. We can make progress on these issues and more. This should be seen as a starting point, not an endpoint.

If we truly want to give children in Ireland the best possible start in life, we must begin by creating a better society, a society in which all of us can participate and with which we can all engage. It is only if we create societal participants that can we give people a sense of ownership of the country. We have long considered ourselves a nation of close-knit communities that believe in a better tomorrow. How better to start in the realisation of that future than by lifting children and other young people out of the depths of poverty?

Increasing after-school activities, which we have debated in this House many times, will provide children with opportunities to grow and flourish, increasing the ability of young people to gain access to transport. It will allow them to engage with the society around them, which I am pleased has been included in the initiative as part of a package of supports for everyday expenses, including in respect of energy and education. Increasing young people's access to books through school and public libraries can give them the chance to pursue their passions and explore new areas of interest. The Government should consider this for the forthcoming budget.

As I have said on many occasions in this House, continued investment in our local communities, youth clubs and outreach programmes is vital in helping young people. I pay tribute to all those who volunteer and work hard to support youth and outreach organisations.

Encouraging our universities to become more diverse in their recruitment and admissions will benefit all in society. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, has launched an ambitious programme to reinvigorate apprenticeship programmes across the State. I eagerly anticipate the development of these programmes. The programmes will give thousands an opportunity to build careers and drive the jobs of the future, particularly in the green economy.

Progress has been made on several fronts. In 2019, there were 3,874 children in emergency accommodation. There are now 2,176 but that number is still far too high. In fact, it should be zero. We must build on the progress, however. In addition, earlier this year Ireland signed up to the European child guarantee, requiring us to develop national plans for children in respect of nutrition, housing, health and education. It is a worthy endeavour by the European Union.

In all these endeavours, we must ensure that we provide the adequate and necessary resources that will allow children to become successful and, in turn, benefit all those living in Ireland and those who will one day call this home.

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