Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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5. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he is undertaking work with the Department of Social Protection and other relevant Departments to address the unacceptably high rate of child poverty [42775/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Social Protection has the lead role in co-ordinating Government strategies on child poverty and is the sponsor of outcome 4 of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures - economic security and opportunity. In this context, the Department has identified child poverty as a cross-sectoral priority action. It has also lead responsibility for the national action plan for social inclusion.

To assist in addressing the issue of child poverty, the advisory council for Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures which brings together key members of the community and voluntary sectors who work with and for children and young people and the Department of Social Protection have co-convened a sub-group with officials from relevant Departments and the relevant stakeholder to progress solutions to the problem of child poverty. The group held its first meeting in September and two more are anticipated in the near future.

My Department, through its leadership of the implementation of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures and in participating in the sub-group, is actively involved with the Department of Social Protection in supporting this multidimensional approach to child poverty. Towards this end, my Department has a number of areas of focus that support its response to child poverty. It is also leading the implementation of the area-based childhood programme 2013 to 2017, in consultation with an interdepartmental project team, which aims to improve outcomes for children and young people and the existing service by drawing on best international practice to break the cycle of child poverty where it is most deeply entrenched.

As part of my Department's response, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is also responsible for the delivery of a range of services, focusing on the welfare of and protection and support for children, young people and their families, which are key to supporting outcomes which assist in actively mitigating the impact of child poverty.

Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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In a recent on-line behaviour and attitudes survey involving 408 teachers 41% said the number of children going to school hungry had increased since this time last year. We are all aware of the fact that this deficit in society is increasing rapidly. It is estimated that in the region of 140,000 children attend school hungry and that they are hungry at home also.

A number of schools cannot serve pupils in need owing to a lack of facilities and personnel to assist with the school breakfast programme.

We will have to redouble our efforts through the Minister's Department, the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Social Protection.

There are a lot of statistics which show the detrimental effect. The EU survey on income and living conditions 2014 shows that in Ireland, while the consistent poverty rate fell slightly from 11.7% in 2013 to 11.2% in 2014, one-parent families had the highest consistent poverty rate, at 22.1%. We have a lot of work to do to rectify the position.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I mentioned a number of programmes in my response, one of which is the area-based childhood, ABC, programme. This programme is a prevention and early intervention initiative consisting of committed funding for an area-based approach to improving outcomes for children, young people and families and thereby contributing to addressing intergenerational child poverty. The ABC programme builds on the work of the prevention and early intervention programme from 2007 to 2013.

The ABC programme involves joint investment by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Atlantic Philanthropies of €29.7 million in evidence-informed interventions to improve outcomes for children. The ABC programme is time bound and the co-funding arrangement between the Government and Atlantic Philanthropies remains in place until 2017. There are 13 sites in the ABC programme, all of which are now operational. The focus of this is to learn from these programmes and then inform the rest of the system of that learning and ensure that it is reflected in our services throughout the country.

Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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Child poverty can have a significant effect and long-term consequences on growing children, particularly on their concentration in school. For instance, it affects their physical and mental health. Their future job opportunities are also being significantly affected.

Child poverty is one of the most critical issues facing children today. The statistics are stark. For example, one in three children does not have warm clothes, eat a nutritious meal every day or have an adequately warm home. The austerity measures are really hitting at this stage. There must be a concerted effort by all the relevant Departments. We need to address this as a matter of urgency.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has made many valid points. Much of this comes from outside my Department but, nonetheless, I am concerned. However, I am pleased that Government has created more than 130,000 new jobs and unemployment has fallen below 9% for the first time since 2008. We all acknowledge that the best way out of poverty is a job and to have financial independence and that is why many of the provisions we have put in place are to address this.

From my Department's point of view, it is about increasing the employability chances for children when they become adults to break that intergenerational poverty trap and that starts really early in life. It now starts in the ECCE programme at three years of age, so that children go to school with the same reading skills as other children because, perhaps through disadvantage, they did not get that opportunity.

An important aspect of getting people back to work, or enabling people to go back to work, is child care, where we are putting an initiative in place. In that initiative, which will be developed this year, we will replace the community child care subvention, CCS, programme and the four training and employment child care, TEC, programme with an entirely new scheme that will be simple and easily accessible for parents. Everybody has agreed that the most vulnerable should be looked after first. Therefore, the income threshold will start at a particular point and increase as more funding becomes available. More and more people, therefore, will not encounter that barrier to going to work because of the cost of child care. From the children's point of view, if they get a good start in early life, their ability to finish education will improve. The school completion programmes is to support that and the ABC programme allows them a better chance of a job later in life.