Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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52. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will establish a cross-departmental task force to address the recent finding of a survey on income and living conditions that children in one-parent families are much more likely to live in consistent poverty in comparison to those in two-parent families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6739/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Of the 800,000 or so of our fellow citizens who live in poverty, approximately 250,000 of them are children. This question refers to the EU-SILC report that we received recently. The at risk of poverty rate for one-parent families was up four points to 36% and the consistent poverty rate for lone-parent families was up from 22% to 26%. The deprivation was also highest for that group of families, at 58%. What is the Minister and the Minister for Social Protection, who is sitting beside her and who has a huge responsibility in this area, planning to do, if the Government is still in place later into 2017? Will it come up with a response to these disappointing and worrying figures?

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The reduction of children's poverty is a key political priority for the Government. The Taoiseach has described tackling child poverty as a moral imperative and I too believe that it is a vital issue that we must address robustly. In recognition of the higher risks and life-long consequences of child poverty, 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. This figure currently represents 102,000 children who need to be lifted up from this threshold.

The Department of Social Protection has the lead role in coordinating government strategies on child poverty and is adopting a cross-departmental approach. It also has 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 development of this cross-sectoral priority. Officials in the Department of Social Protection have convened a subgroup with members of the advisory council for Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures to progress solutions to child poverty.

In recognition of the fact that child poverty is a multifaceted problem, the group includes officials from other Departments, including the Departments of Health and Education and Skills. Led by the Department of Social Protection, it has produced a paper which outlines a whole-of-Government approach to tackling child poverty. This is based around the three pillars outlined in the European Union's recommendation on investing in children, namely, access to adequate resources, access to affordable quality services and children's right to participate. The paper will come before the consortium of interdepartmental officials working on the issue in the near future.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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One of the areas on which the Minister and her colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, may have an influence is the changes the previous Government made to the one-parent allowance in 2012. At the time, many Opposition Deputies predicted that these changes, specifically the change in respect of payments to children when they reach seven years of age, would exacerbate rates of child poverty. This has been exemplified in the Silke report. In that regard, I welcome the Minister's comments on the establishment of an interdepartmental group. Are these matters being considered, including by the Minister for Social Protection? Will the fundamental issue of income be reconsidered? Some of the issues that frequently arise are savage rents that place one-parent families in danger of homelessness and the fundamental change that occurs when the child of a single parent in part-time work reaches seven years of age. The Minister is continuing with a policy change introduced by the austerity Governments that should be reversed.

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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We are fully committed to a whole-of-Government approach to reducing child poverty. We understand that addressing child poverty requires access to adequate resources and that this issue is related to income, specifically, as the Deputy noted, changes in household incomes. This is not the only way we are addressing child poverty. Other areas being addressed include access to affordable quality services and children's right to participate. My Department's role in providing access to affordable quality services for children includes heavy investment in the affordable child care scheme. A number of measures in the programme for Government are directed at lone parents.

On the issues the Deputy raised, the Minister for Social Protection is working on a new initiative on working family payments. It focuses specifically on reducing child poverty and ensuring greater access to employment, particularly for lone parents. This is where we hope to address some of the issues the Deputy has identified.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Anne Rabbitte has kindly agreed to forfeit the two minutes remaining to facilitate a proposed change to the business of the House.