Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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65. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will actively support the 375,000 children experiencing deprivation in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28130/14]

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Will the Minister indicate the sensible policies he intends to pursue to address the situation of the 375,000 children in this country who are experiencing extreme poverty? It is not acceptable in 2014 that our society should be so unequal and divided. Given the level of wealth and resources in this country, it is unacceptable that we cannot target those resources to help the hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Support for families who require income support to meet basic needs is provided through the social welfare system, which is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection. A range of income supports is available to parents, both those who are unemployed and those on low incomes. The Department of Social Protection has lead responsibility for the national action plan for social inclusion.

In regard to issues pertaining to my Department, we are working on a number of initiatives which are relevant in addressing issues related to children experiencing deprivation. For example, my Department is taking the lead in implementing the area-based childhood programme. This programme is being co-funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and will have a total funding allocation of up to €29.7 million. It is being introduced on foot of the programme for Government commitment to adopt an area-based approach to child poverty, drawing on best international practice and existing services to break the cycle of child poverty where it is most deeply entrenched and improve outcomes for children and young people. I acknowledge that Deputy McGrath's constituency is one containing an unacceptable level of disadvantage.

As provided for in the recently published document, Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014-2020, the Department of Social Protection, under commitment 4.2 therein, has lead responsibility for a national child-specific social target to lift 70,000 children out of consistent poverty in the coming six-year period, a reduction of at least two thirds on the 2011 level. This target will include reducing the poverty rate for households with children, which is consistently higher when compared with non-child households - 8.8% versus 4.2% - and for children as compared with adults, which is 9.3% versus 6%. It is expected that this commitment will be addressed on a cross-departmental basis.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

A number of other areas of my Department also contribute to the support of families experiencing poverty. Approximately €260 million is invested annually by the Government specifically to support the provision of early childhood care and education through three child care support programmes. These child care programmes, implemented by my Department, support the provision of childhood care and education for more than 100,000 children each year.

A number of these programmes are targeted at those on lowest incomes. The Child and Family Agency provides a range of services and supports to families experiencing difficulty, for example, the statutory Education Welfare Service has specific responsibility for the agency's general function to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education.

The youth services provide targeted support for disadvantaged, marginalised and at risk young people and these services are funded through the special projects for youth scheme, the young people's facilities and services fund and local drugs task force projects. In addition, national and regional youth work organisations are supported under my Department's youth service grant scheme. In 2014, current funding of €49.78 million has been provided to my Department for these schemes.

My Department is actively involved in supporting cross-Government policies and programmes seeking to promote the economic security and opportunity of children and families.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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I welcome the Minister's response in regard to some of the proposals he put on the table. I encourage him, as the new Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, to make these priority issues because we must deal with this problem. If we do not intervene early, we will have many other problems in the future. The Minister mentioned Atlantic Philanthropy, Chuck Feeney's organisation, which is making a contribution to support some of these projects on the ground.

The Minister will accept, when we talk about child poverty, that we can see very clearly that it leads to educational disadvantage and lack of stability, which leads to children dropping out of school and low self-esteem. We need to focus on these issues because if we do not, we will end up with more neglected children and more children at risk getting involved in drugs and ending up in our prison system. We are a great country for talking about children and we held a referendum on children's rights, but now is an opportunity to do something about them.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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In addition to what I said already, approximately €260 million is invested annually by the Government specifically to support the provision of early childhood care and education through three child care support programmes. This benefits in excess of 100,000 children each year. A number of these programmes are targeted at those on lowest incomes. The Child and Family Agency provides a range of services and supports to families experiencing difficulty, for example, the statutory Education Welfare Service has specific responsibility for the agency's general function to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education.

The youth services provide targeted support for disadvantaged, marginalised and at risk young people and these services are funded through the special projects for youth scheme, the young people's facilities and services fund and local drugs task force projects. In addition, national and regional youth work organisations are supported under my Department's youth service grant scheme. In this year alone, current funding of €49.78 million has been provided to my Department for these schemes.

I recently visited a centre in the Deputy's consistency which is partly funded through the ABC programme. I know what he is talking about when he talks of disadvantage. I am anxious to ensure we have improvements to report on an ongoing basis.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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To go back to the issue of child poverty, which we must prioritise, I heard the Minister state that there is a budget of €260 million for early childhood education. What I would say to him is that I do not know what is going on with the talks in regard to the Darndale centre but all we are looking for is €100,000 immediately and €200,000 in the long term. If there is money available, I urge the Minister to put it into services on the ground because many of these children suffer from poverty. The Minister knows that from his visit to the area.

It is all very well to lash out money left, right and centre, and we hope there will be more, but we must ensure we focus that money on the children who need it most. I have given examples of genuine and credible projects, such as the one in Darndale. We need value for money and to prioritise those 375,000 children in poverty.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy can be assured that I will not lash out money left, right and centre. I will look for value for money, which is what the Government is doing across a range of Departments. We now have a clear plan to guide this economy to better times. Our economy has stabilised.

Employment is increasing, international confidence has returned and the economy has returned to growth. Employment has increased by 42,000 in the past 12 months compared with 300,000 lost in the final three years of the previous Fianna Fáil Administration. Much of the focus in alleviating poverty is going to be determined by the number of jobs and the level of employment available in regions and constituencies. I realise there is a particular difficulty in parts of Deputy Finian McGrath's constituency, but I wish to forge a direct link between the alleviation of poverty and the tackling of child poverty and the creation of jobs. The job creation and job facilitation figures continue to grow. I accept it is not at a pace we would like but it is regarded as steady.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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The Minister should not forget the 99 jobs in Darndale.