Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. The key national metric relating to the measurement of poverty is that of consistent poverty. It records those households who are both at risk of poverty and are experiencing deprivation. It is independently measured by the CSO through the survey on income and living conditions, SILC. SILC 2025, which is based on income data from 2024, was published in March. This shows a reduction in the child consistent poverty rate in 2025, from 8.5% to 7.8%. This is equivalent to an 8% reduction year-on-year. As SILC 2025 is based on 2024 income data, the survey does not take into account Government measures to reduce child poverty that were included in budgets 2025 and 2026. Budget 2026 included some of the most significant investments any government has made in tackling child poverty in order to make progress towards our new child poverty target.

Budget 2026 contained a €320 million social welfare package specifically to reduce child poverty. Key measures included the largest ever increases to child support payments, with a 16% increase for children under 12 and over 25% increase for children over 12, higher income thresholds for the working family payment and expanded access to the fuel allowance and the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. Taken together, the increases in core rates, the child support payment and the fuel allowance as well as the recent four-week extension in the payment of that fuel allowance means that a lone parent family with one child will see an increase of over 9%, or nearly €1,800, in payments from the Department and a two-adult household will see an increase of just over 8%, or €2,300, in their payments.

Budget 2025 extended the hot school meals scheme to make it available to all primary schools.

This additional investment supplements other cross-government supports such as free schoolbooks, free GP visit cards and enhancements to early childhood care and education schemes. While the impact of some of these non-cash measures will never be fully reflected in poverty statistics, I am confident that, together, they will bring us closer to achieving our target, which I am determined we will meet.

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