Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One child living in poverty is one child too many nonetheless we must recognise that major achievements have been made. ECCE, increased child support payments, the free clothing scheme, free school books and the meal allowance have helped to support families in dire need. Points were made by Deputies Bacik and Connolly about child homelessness as being one of the key issues affecting children living in poverty and it must be tackled aggressively. It is an area where Bertie Ahern's slogan applies. A lot has been done generally about child poverty but there is an awful lot more to be done. In tackling the problems of dysfunctional families, drug abuse and substance abuse generally, we need to look at resourcing local communities, family support centres and so on to give them the resources to work locally to support people in dire need.

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