Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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9. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the specific measures she is planning to tackle child poverty; if she had discussions with the Minister for Social Protection as regards addressing poverty rates for children in one-parent families, 22.1% of which according to the 2014 European Union survey on income and living conditions are living in consistent poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14817/16]

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Does Deputy Wallace wish to introduce the question?

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Some 11% of children today are living in consistent poverty. The recent UNICEF Fairness for Children report found that Ireland has the fourth worse income inequality in the EU. What direct actions does this Government plan to take to address this huge problem? I also wish the Minister good luck with her new job.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Wallace. The reduction of children's poverty is a key political priority for my work as Minister. I informed the Taoiseach of that a couple of weeks ago. I have devoted all of my professional life in Ireland to the development of community based approaches to tackle children's poverty and to the design and delivery of effective prevention and early intervention strategies to do the same. I am fully committed to working with my colleagues in government, particularly the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar, with whom I have had several discussions on which I can speak later, to ensure a collaborative approach to tackling child poverty. We will both be addressing a forthcoming conference on child poverty being organised by the Children's Rights Alliance and I am looking forward to what he will say at it. The Government set a child-specific poverty target in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures to reduce consistent child poverty by at least two thirds by 2020, and that year is getting closer. The figure currently represents 100,000 children. I have asked to and will chair the policy consortium that leads the work of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures to drive key actions but particularly, and the reason I asked especially for it, to drive the actions on children's poverty.

The Department of Social Protection has the lead role in co-ordinating Government strategies on child poverty. It also has the lead responsibility for the national action plan for social inclusion and has identified child poverty as a key cross-sectoral priority to be addressed. Officials in my Department are working closely with the Department of Social Protection in informing the plan for this cross-sectoral priority. In February 2016, my Department, in collaboration with the Department of Social Protection, held an EU peer review with ten EU countries to explore innovative responses in prevention and early intervention to improve outcomes for children, in particular those who experience poverty.

That is a lot of the policy but we are working towards complementing that with the actions as well.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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The Minister tells me about a general policy, but what specific direct actions does the Government plan to take to deal with this issue? Certain groups are particularly at risk such as children from lone-parent families, children in jobless households, Traveller and Roma children, children living in direct provision, children with disabilities and obviously those who are homeless. The measures brought in by the last Government had a significant direct impact on one-parent families and their children. For example, at 22.1% one-parent family households have the highest consistent poverty rate of any household type in Ireland but the cuts introduced in July 2015, which lowered the age threshold for the youngest child of new recipients to seven years of age, mean that one-parent families now have to fight even harder to make ends meet and God knows they face several barriers aside from that. A direct action would be, for example, to change that measure and go back to where we were. It was a draconian measure and one which was always going to have a terrible effect on lone parents and child poverty.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I fought that measure tooth and nail when I was a Senator, so I am very well aware of those measures to cut. In respect of the commitments that I effectively put in and am pursuing in the programme for Government, particularly in relation to lone parents, which Deputy Wallace referenced in his question, the programme for Government commits to the design of a working family payment, particularly for low-income or even jobless households. In that regard, I am engaging in serious conversations and meetings with the Department of Social Protection to ensure, as provided in the commitment, that within the context of that design is the opportunity to raise those income disregards, particularly for lone parents, so that it will effectively be a measure that will not only reduce disincentives to taking up employment for low-income households but will also be a measure that will directly impact on children's poverty.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Employment alone will not necessarily lift one-parent families or their children out of poverty. According to NERA, in the past 15 years there has been a gradual increase in the proportion of workers classified as being low paid in Ireland. For many one-parent families, the only jobs available are low paid and precarious ones. Other measures are required. I draw the Minister's attention to the fact that we now have more than 2,000 children growing up in direct provision. It is akin to State-sanctioned poverty. They get €9.60 a week; their parents get €19.10. We have been giving out about this for a long time but, sadly, it seems that it is still as bad as it was. When will something different happen? No one in the place would try to defend the direct provision system. It reminds me a bit of Guantanamo, which Obama threatened to close seven years ago but which is still open.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has only 20 seconds to reply.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I totally agree with the Deputy that we need action. I referred to just one of the big commitments in the programme for Government and I hope in the context of my involvement that there will be a specific focus on the reduction of children's poverty. As we know, lots of things impact on it, but what would impact on it most immediately is potentially increasing some form of children's income support, which is something we are looking at as a possibility, perhaps in a targeted way, alongside supporting families to take up jobs.

On lone parents, another commitment I placed in the programme for Government is to review access to higher education and the barriers for lone parents and, on the basis of that review and the recommendations that come out of it, to act in that regard. In looking at this working family payment and the way it is designed, we need to be aware, as Deputy Wallace stated, that this is not just about jobs but quality jobs and jobs that can ensure the parents' children move beyond poverty.