Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

We recognise that the cost of living is still incredibly challenging. Not all the measures we have taken have been one-off measures. The hot school meals and free schoolbook schemes are continuous improvements that will directly assist in reducing child poverty. The expansion of the hot school meals scheme, in particular, was not recognised in the SILC data.

Deputy O'Reilly and I are at one on the importance of targeted payments. The child support payment and the threshold for the working family payment increased significantly in budget 2025. Those measures are very much targeted at families and children who are currently under the most pressure.

Deputy McGuinness spoke about resilience. The first measure to point to in response is the domiciliary care allowance. I have really focused on reducing the delays in the processing of applications and appeals for that payment. From May to June, we have reduced by half the number of appeals on hold, which will assist families who qualify for the allowance. I will continue to keep a laser focus on that payment in particular. That will address the first cohort of people to whom the Deputy referred.

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