Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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118. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the position on measures his Department is taking to implement the EU child guarantee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5428/22]

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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I ask the Minister to outline the position on measures his Department is taking to implement the EU child guarantee.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I believe that significant advancements can be made through my Department's co-ordination of the EU child guarantee. It is an important initiative which aims to combat social exclusion by guaranteeing access for children who are in need of a range of key services.

I will publish our national action plan for the child guarantee by March of this year. The commitments under the guarantee address critical matters such as free access to early childhood education; education; healthcare for children in need; healthy nutrition, including a healthy meal each school day; and adequate housing.

Tackling child poverty and effectively implementing the child guarantee will require the commitment and active, sustained participation of my colleagues across the Government to make sure it is ultimately impactful. As part of the child guarantee process, and in developing the successor national policy framework to Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, I will engage with my Cabinet colleagues to consider the most appropriate and effective structures to pursue the reforms necessary to improve outcomes for our most disadvantaged children and young people. The child guarantee will form one element of the broader body of work supported by the new national policy framework for children and young people and its implementation structures.

On a related note, addressing child poverty was identified as a priority action under Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures and will remain a priority for its successor framework. Then there is the work being undertaken by the Department of Social Protection. It leads on the road map for social inclusion. Under that road map, a new child poverty reduction target will be introduced, and I will meet the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, later this month in respect of that.

Finally, we will continue to look at those mechanisms to make sure we have a whole-of-government approach. I met with the Ombudsman for Children and we had a good debate about his "new normal" report just before Christmas in this House. There is also the position paper of the national advisory council on child poverty, which is a really useful document. I also wish to make better use of the Cabinet committee on social affairs, particularly pre-budget, allowing a discussion specifically on how our next budget will address child poverty each year.

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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I know from previous conversations with the Minister that he is well aware of some of these issues. As for the child guarantee, I am selfishly thinking particularly of my constituency, where we have high numbers of children experiencing homelessness and children who are from migrant families and who sometimes find it difficult to access services. I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is very much aware of the issues around disability. Are there aspects of the child guarantee that speak particularly to those vulnerable groups or those groups who require more effort and more thought? How will we tackle that, and is there specific provision for them in the work the Minister is doing?

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Yes, very much so. The child guarantee will be one piece and will sit within the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, BOBF, successor strategy. The child guarantee is focused on children in need. That is the term used in the EU provision, which refers to the delivery of free childcare, free education and free healthcare to children in need. Obviously, that very much encompasses the groups about which the Deputy talks. There is some EU funding available under the child guarantee, which is particularly beneficial. Once we submit our action plan, we will be able to make applications for targeted programmes that will look to achieve the outcomes set out in that regard. The child guarantee, however, is a slightly narrower element. That is why we are not looking at it alone but, rather, placing it within the BOBF successor strategy, which looks at a broader context of children at risk of poverty and items such as homelessness the Deputy has addressed. That will allow us to address that in a comprehensive way, bringing together all those different Departments. This cannot be just a matter for my Department and the Department of Social Protection; all Departments are involved.

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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I am very heartened to hear of the threading through of issues of child poverty throughout the Minister's statement. I appreciate that housing is not his brief, but we have 2,500 children in emergency accommodation. The cost of rents in particular is rising rapidly, and the cost of living is difficult for families on lower incomes. Will the Minister talk to me a little about what the child guarantee will mean for children?

I am thinking particularly of children in emergency accommodation.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The issue of children and young people who are homeless is identified in the programme for Government. There is a commitment to bring forward a strategy in this regard. That will be led by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage but my Department will also be feeding into it. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and I have met on that issue once already and we will seek to do so again. The work being done between our two Departments can be knit into the child guarantee and the successor to the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures strategy, which looks at matters through a wider lens. I do not believe the child guarantee specifically focuses on homelessness but I can come back to the Deputy on that. That is not to say we will not address the absolutely crucial issue of homelessness among children and young people.

I got a really interesting paper from Focus Ireland with regard to young LGBT+ people and their particular vulnerability to homelessness. They may encounter particular situations which other sectors of the population may not. The Deputy also made reference to migrant homelessness. There are very specific issues in respect of different vulnerable populations, which may require tailored solutions.