Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the important issues highlighted by the Barnardos survey published this morning. I am very grateful to Barnardos for the work it does and the survey it produced. I thank its dedicated staff and volunteers. Objectively, Ireland is making progress when it comes to child poverty. The consistent poverty rate for children is now lower than it has been at any other time since measurements began in 2004. Similarly, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for children is now lower than at any other time since we started measuring it in 2004. The data also shows the positive impact on child poverty rates of the cost-of-living measures taken by the previous Government. The Barnardos report today has 12 indicators. Of those 12 on page 2 of its statement issued this morning, eight have shown significant progress over the course of the past year. That is why I said this week at the national economic dialogue that cost-of-living supports must also be a focus of the next budget.

It is also why we held the first child poverty and well-being summit in Dublin Castle last week. It had more than 300 participants, including Barnardos, to ask what next do we do in Ireland. We do not want any child in Ireland to be hungry. We do not want any family in Ireland to struggle. How do we work together on both universal supports and more targeted measures? I must say to the Deputy that by any fair analysis, we have taken a number of measures that have already made a positive difference to families, whether that is reducing the cost of childcare, increasing parent's leave and benefit, providing free schoolbooks to all children in primary school or providing an expansion of the hot school meals programme and making sure we have hot school meals for all primary school children in 2025. Moreover, we have provided access to free GP care and the Government took a really important initiative last week called Equal Start. The Children's Rights Alliance called this initiative one of the most important measures you could take if you were serious about tackling child poverty. This is a new Government-funded model to ensure there are extra supports for disadvantaged children in early learning and childcare. There is of course much more that we want to do, both on the universal side and the targeted side.

However, the Deputy specifically mentioned the fuel issue. Here is where I think there are a number of inconsistencies in her approach. First, she travels the globe, most recently to Massachusetts, talking to the next generation about the importance of climate change. Yet, she comes in here and - I think many of the Opposition would agree with me on this - refuses to take every single opportunity she has to show leadership on climate. She opposes every single measure put forward, while telling young people across the globe that she wants to address the climate emergency. Perhaps more hypocritical is her position on petrol and diesel. She is misleading people again. To the men and women at home, driving to and from work, collecting children from school later today, I say that while the Government keeps future rises under review, including the August one, the Sinn Féin alternative budget proposed restoring all of the carbon tax by April. Stop trying to cod people. The people are not thick. They can see through this single gear Sinn Féin has, which is to sow outrage, shout and roar, go rah rah rah and stick a video up on Twitter. When push came to shove, at decision point, and Sinn Féin had to present its alternative budget to this House, it proposed to extend the reduced rate of excise duty for petrol and diesel to April, not August.

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