Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. A Sheanadóirí, táim an-sásta labhairt libh inniu agus an t-eolas is déanaí a thabhairt daoibh ar roinnt obair an Rialtais. Déanfaidh mé mionsonrú freisin ar ár gcuid oibre chun tosaíocht a thabhairt do bhochtaineacht agus folláine leanaí.

This Government is now more than three years in office. This term has not been defined solely by the pandemic, as many thought it would; it has involved dealing with a range of unforeseen issues, including the outbreak of war in Europe, an influx of refugees and asylum seekers, and a protracted inflation and cost-of-living crisis.

The devastating effect of climate change is contributing to some of these issues and, as I have often said, we need to be the generation that turns the tide on this. We have the high-level goals, laws, targets and plans, and now we must translate them into meaningful actions on the ground.

Sláintecare is already transforming our health service and is backed by unprecedented levels of investment in our health and social care. Sláintecare, the Government's plan to introduce universal healthcare in Ireland, which is being implemented with the support and oversight of the Department of the Taoiseach, is about four main things: making healthcare more affordable; making healthcare more accessible for our people; ensuring better outcomes for patients; and reforming our health service. Patient outcomes are extremely good in Ireland. We have among the highest life expectancy in the European Union. While there are deficiencies in our health service, which we should never be afraid to talk about, we should mention the incredible successes for patients. I include major improvements in the past ten years in survival rates from stroke and cancer, for example.

Recent years have seen massive increases in health funding, rising to €24 billion in 2023 and likely to be higher next year. We are hiring more staff, with more than 20,000 hired since the start of 2020.This, of course, is needed - we have a growing and ageing population - but it is fair to say that these kinds of increases in spending will not always be possible. That is why reform is so important, that we do not just do more but also do things better and differently.

The third and fourth aspects of Sláintecare are affordability and access, meaning that patients can receive healthcare either free of cost or at a cost they can afford. We have made a lot of improvements in that area in recent years, such as reducing the cost of medicines and extending free GP care to many more people. By the end of the year, most people in Ireland will not have to pay to see their doctor. We have also introduced free contraception, abolished hospital charges for public patients and, from this week, State-funded IVF became a reality for the first time.

As Senators will know, the housing crisis is affecting people in many ways, from high rents to homelessness to all the people we know who are struggling to buy their first home. However, real progress is being made. More first-time buyers are purchasing their first home every week. At about 400 or 500 a week, these are the highest numbers we have seen since the Celtic tiger period. In raw numbers, more families own their own home than ever before, about 1.2 million, which is 60,000 more than ten years ago. We are building more social housing than in any year since 1975. Almost 30,000 houses were completed in 2022. That was a 45% increase on 2021, the best year in more than a decade and in excess of our targets. We are also providing grants to help people renovate old buildings, breathing new life into them, thus creating more vibrant towns, villages and rural areas. We know this progress is nowhere near enough for many, particularly those who are experiencing homelessness. We are doing all we can to speed up implementation of Housing for All. We are ensuring the initiatives we have committed to are implemented quickly and effectively.

After many years of progress - rising incomes in real terms, falling inequality and reductions in poverty and deprivation - last year saw poverty rates increase for the first time in a long time due to inflation. Now that inflation is easing, our objective is to restore the buying power of people’s incomes and push poverty rates back down again in the right direction. Like last year, the next budget will put money back in people’s pockets and also ensure the money they do have goes further.

As Senators know, some people argue that we must choose between saving or spending the budget surplus, increasing spending or decreasing taxes. The truth is, you can do all these things if you have a growing economy. The choice rather is one of quantum and split. However, we must never take for granted our economic success or assume that full employment, record levels of trade and investment and budgets in surplus will persist no matter what economic policies we pursue. Wealth and jobs have to be generated and that requires the protection of an economic model that has served us well. A change to economic policy, trade or tax policy or our policy on the European Union would almost certainly be change for the worse for our country.

Budget 2023 was a cost-of-living budget. Recent research by UNICEF examined the effect of food and energy inflation on child poverty in the European Union. Interestingly, in comparison with many of our European neighbours, Ireland’s Government interventions proved very effective in protecting children. In budget 2024, now only a few weeks away, we will help households again. We know that for some, poverty and exclusion continue to undermine their potential to benefit from the success of our economy. That is why I announced in December that a child poverty and well-being office would be established in my Department. Above all, we want Ireland to be the best country in Europe in which to be a child, and ending child poverty has to be central to this ambition.

This is important not only because we want every child to be happy and well cared for, but also because happy childhoods are the foundation for realising broader economic, environmental and social goals. We know from research done by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, and others that the experience of poverty during childhood is associated with poorer outcomes across a range of dimensions, including educational attainment, life satisfaction and chronic illness.

It is important to put on the record that over the past decade, Ireland has made significant progress in reducing child poverty and promoting child well-being. Our income measures, public services and community infrastructure all play an important role in protecting children and promoting child well-being. The number of children experiencing consistent poverty reduced from 11.7% in 2013 to a low of 5.2% in 2021. Although there was an increase last year, driven by the cost-of-living crisis, it still means that there are almost 50,000 fewer children living in consistent poverty than was the case ten years ago, notwithstanding a rising population.

We need to build on this. Recent initiatives taken by the Government include free schoolbooks for primary schools, free GP care for all children under eight years, the extension of the hot school meals programme, as well as significant investment in early learning and childcare which is helping to protect children and families from poverty. These are practical actions that are making a difference in everyday lives. We will accelerate this progress, overseen by the newly established child poverty and well-being programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach.

In August, the office published its work programme for the next two and a half years, From Poverty to Potential: A Programme Plan for Child Poverty and Well-being 2023-2025. The initial programme for the office focuses on six areas that will have the greatest effect on the lives of children experiencing poverty. These are: incomes and joblessness; early learning and childcare; reducing the cost of education; family homelessness; consolidating and integrating family and parental support; health and well-being; and enhancing participation in culture, arts and sport for children and young people. It must be said that these are not the only areas that are important but by focusing on them, we can make the difference that makes a difference. There may be other issues the programme office will need to focus on in the future and we can adapt and evolve the plan as work develops.

The programme office is accountable to and will report to the Cabinet committee on children and education. It will work closely with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Inclusion and Youth and contribute to the work and structures of the new national framework for children and young people. It will ensure that children are aware of and feed directly into cross-government action on the child poverty and well-being agenda by publishing child-friendly versions of reports and using established child participation structures.

The annual budget, which is coming up in only a few weeks' time, is a critical moment for the Government. It is when we articulate our ambitions for the coming year, and I want to make sure that child poverty and well-being is a strong theme in it. I am working with my Cabinet colleagues to establish what can be achieved in budget 2024. I have asked the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, to examine the ESRI proposal to introduce a means-tested second tier of child benefit. Such a change would not be possible to introduce in 2024, so further work will have to be undertaken to ensure no unintended consequences occur, as identified by the ESRI. The proposal has real merit and I look forward to understanding more about how might be implemented.

While the specifics of many other issues are still to be decided on budget day, it will be evident that Government Departments are working towards a shared goal of improving child welfare.

Baineann bochtaineacht leanaí ón óige agus goideann sé a dtodhchaí uathu. Tá plean trasrialtais againn anois chun é sin a athrú. Tá mé muiníneach go dtabharfaidh an plean seo i bhfad níos gaire muid d’Éirinn a bheith ar an tír is fearr san Eoraip le bheith i do leanbh.

I look forward to hearing Members' comments and questions.