Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. Many of those payments and changes are welcome but there is a question, in the context of the growing hardship on families, the cost of energy and the cost-of-living crisis, that people are being left behind. Potential talent, in particular, is being left behind at a young age if we do not reverse the trend of consistent child poverty. The Government's target is about 3%; 7.8% is still quite a long way off, despite the things the Minister has worked on.

In our alternative budget, the Social Democrats proposed a reworking of the working family payment to create a highly targeted support in the form of a second tier of child benefit. We were promised a second tier by the Taoiseach for budget 2026 in August. I think the Minister gave some support to that, but it did not appear. Will the Minister commit to the Government taking the rising poverty figures and the cost-of-living crisis as impetus for introducing a second tier of child benefit?

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