Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 61: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his policy on tackling child poverty; his views on the need to provide greater access to affordable non-cash services such as child care, health care and housing; and the steps he is taking in this regard. [26626/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The reduction and eventual elimination of child poverty is a national priority and is at the core of the strategic process to combat poverty and social exclusion as set out in Towards 2016, the national action plan for social inclusion, NAPinclusion, and the social inclusion commitments in the NDP.

One of the 12 high-level goals set out in the NAPinclusion focuses on achieving significant real increases in income supports for children, while three others address education initiatives. In addition, the detailed action targets cover services such as health, education, income support, early childhood development and care, as well as sport and leisure and participation programmes, to ensure that children reach their true potential and parents are supported in providing care for them.

Children growing up in low-income or jobless households are the most vulnerable to poverty. A high proportion of such households are composed of larger families with three or more children, as well as those headed by lone parents. The responsibilities involved in providing proper care for children can create obstacles for parents in taking up employment that provides a decent income for their families. The NAPinclusion addresses this by providing for a case management approach that will encompass, in an integrated manner, appropriate income support, child care services and education and training to enable parents to overcome these obstacles. National and international evidence shows that employment participation is the main route out of poverty.

The social welfare commitments in the programme for Government prioritise the objectives of the NAPinclusion. They include improvements in support for lone parents as well as in the carer's allowance, child benefit, back to school clothing and footwear allowance and the school meals programme. Child care provision, preschool facilities, family services and housing provision to meet the diverse needs of the population are further key Government commitments to better support families.

Significant progress has been made in reducing child poverty and material deprivation. The latest EU survey on income and living conditions, EU-SILC, shows, for example, that in the period 2003 to 2005, the proportion of children in consistent poverty has reduced from 12.2% in 2003 to 10.2% in 2005. I am confident the Government can maintain and build on that progress in the next ten years as a key part of achieving the overall goal in the NAPinclusion to reduce consistent poverty to between 4% and 2% by 2012 with the aim of eliminating it by 2016.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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It is generally accepted that one in nine children suffers from consistent poverty? Does the Minister accept this figure? Does he accept that a far wider cohort of children suffers from additional elements of poverty in so far as they are denied access to quality public services? I refer to those who struggle to survive on low incomes but who are unable to gain access to health services or, for example, to the 1,000 children in the Dublin area who are homeless and whose families cannot gain access to decent quality housing accommodation. There are two elements to child poverty, namely, income poverty and poverty that comes about through the denial of access to services.

As for income policy, the Government has neglected the subject of qualified children's payments for a number of years. I refer to the approximately 340,000 children of adults who are entirely dependent on social welfare. What is the Minister's policy to improve their income? Is he committed to the earlier promise to bring the rate of qualified child payment up to €30 this year? This is being demanded by a number of campaigning groups. Is he committed to an earlier proposal to consider combining family income supplement and qualified child payment, as was promised under Sustaining Progress? It appears that little progress has been made in this regard.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I do not accept that little progress has been made. In recent years, the investment in child benefit and direct funding to children in families has been phenomenal and bears no relation to the position in previous years. In the discussions with the social partners, those involved with the relevant agencies wanted much of the available resources to be targeted specifically at families in need that have children and which, due to their overall circumstances, are in danger of encountering serious difficulties regarding access to facilities. This is the reason my reply to the Deputy specifically referred to the need for a relationship in respect of the health services and housing. The Deputy is correct in stating there is a mixture of methods involved in dealing with this issue. At one level there is direct income support, which comes from my Department and which has improved hugely over the last number of years. Obviously I am anxious to do more, but I must work within the limits of what will be available at budget time in order to enhance the payments and change the basis on which they are set. There has been a major improvement over the last number of years.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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I do not think anyone would deny that there have been improvements in general children's payments, but I asked the Minister a question about those children who are the poorest of the poor — the 340,000 children who are dependent on the qualified child payment. The sum total of this payment is €22 per week. The parents of these children are entirely dependent on social welfare income. What is the Minister's intention in respect of that meagre payment? There is a clamour to have this payment increased to at least €30 this year in order to lift these children, a third of a million, out of poverty. Is the Minister committed to this action?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I am committed to more than that. I am committed to a huge range of improvements, particularly for the less well off in society, including direct support for children.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Could the Minister be more specific on that?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is trying to force me to give a figure in advance of the budget, which she knows I cannot and will not do. She will have to wait for the budget to see what the figure will be when the process is completed.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 62: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will explain the Government's failure to achieve its initial target to reduce consistent child poverty to 2% by 2007, as stated in the National Anti-Poverty Strategy; the reason this target was revised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26534/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The National Anti-Poverty Strategy target set in 2002 was to reduce the numbers of those who are consistently poor, including children, to 2% by 2007 and, if possible, to eliminate consistent poverty as then defined. Survey information produced by the ESRI showed that the level of consistent poverty had steadily fallen from 8.3% in 1994 to 4.1% in 2001. The Government considered that achieving the 2% target over the following five-year period was realistic and attainable and that it might even be possible to eliminate consistent poverty.

The consistent poverty measure was developed by the Economic and Social Research Institute in 1987. It identified people as being in consistent poverty if their income was below 60% of median income and they were also deprived of one or more goods or services considered essential for a basic standard of living. The data for measuring consistent poverty up to 2001 were drawn from the Living in Ireland Survey. From 2003, however, this survey was replaced by the EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions, EU-SILC, administered by the Central Statistics Office. The discontinuity between the two survey methods means it is not possible to compare trends in consistent poverty using these two different measures. Consequently, although EU-SILC data has shown higher rates of consistent poverty since 2003, continuing low levels of unemployment and the substantial amount of resources devoted to social welfare and other social services support the view that the downward trend in consistent poverty would have continued and that the target would have been reached by 2007 had the Living in Ireland Survey method continued in use.

Moreover, data from the first three years of EU-SILC indicate that the overall consistent poverty rate has fallen from 8.8% in 2003 to 7% in 2005 while, as I mentioned, consistent poverty among children fell from 12.2% to 10.2% over the same period. The targets set for reducing consistent poverty are now based on the latest EU-SILC figures and particularly on the progress achieved in the period 2003-05.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

In addition, an updated set of indicators devised by the ESRI, which are in keeping with living standards today rather than those of 1987, are being used to measure consistent poverty. On the basis of this method of measurement and the policies and resources being put in place under the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016, NAPinclusion, the overall goal now is to reduce the number of persons, including children, experiencing consistent poverty to between 2% and 4% by 2012, with the aim of eliminating consistent poverty by 2016.

The continued reduction and eventual elimination of child poverty remains a top priority for the Government and the programme for Government prioritises the objectives of NAPinclusion in this regard. In working to deliver the Government programme over the coming months, my plan is to build on the significant progress that has been made in reducing poverty in the past ten years and to deliver real improvements in living standards and wellbeing for the most vulnerable in our society, especially our children.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I am sure it will be a great relief to the 111,129 children in poverty to know that they are not really in poverty at all but that the data merely changed. From a more realistic point of view, can the Minister tell us whether an independent framework will be put in place to measure progress on the new targets set out in NAPinclusion in order to ensure that they are achieved within the given timeframe?

Although this may be under the remit of the Minister for Health and Children, is there a group within the Cabinet which deals with child poverty in a holistic way, so that all of the areas of Government that must be included in order to address this issue, including education, housing and social welfare, may work together in a coherent way rather than leaving the individual Departments to do their own thing? That is part of the strategy, but how can we independently ensure it is achieved?

Does the Minister agree with the comments of the End Child Poverty Coalition which described Ireland as having one of the worst records on child poverty in Europe, or what are his views on it?

Has the Minister given consideration to encouraging greater uptake of the FIS and ensuring that people are fully aware of it, and is there any possibility of using the data available to automatically let people know they are eligible for FIS without having to formally make an application?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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On the last point, the Department of Social and Family Affairs is probably the best at informing people and produces a range of information packs and works carefully with its customers.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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That is acknowledged generally throughout society. In terms of trying to get to individual families and deal with them, the Department does that daily. The National Action Plan for Social Inclusion, 2007 — 2016, set out to do that. I gave Deputy Shortall the figures. The object of the plan is to reduce consistent poverty to between 2% and 4% by 2012, with the aim of eliminating it altogether by 2016. It is a major priority with the programme for Government and across all strands of the Departments and it is reasonable to suggest there is much better co-operation between the Departments in trying to ensure the different services are provided or correlated properly to the maximum advantage of the individual families and children who find themselves in the difficulties we are discussing here.