Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as ucht an t-ábhar seo a chur liom. As she will know, the Taoiseach has made it clear that tackling child poverty and homelessness are key priorities for this Government. It is a focus for budget 2026. Our negotiations are ongoing and all will be made available next Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Our programme for Government commitments in relation to child poverty reflect this overall determination and we recently published a new child poverty target to guide this work. The target of 3% or less child consistent poverty, to be achieved by 2030, is ambitious. It reflects a reduction of 5.5% from the current rate of 8.5% and will require targeted investment across many areas of government, including income supports, housing, employment, childcare, health and education.

While ensuring every child has the best start in life will be a core focus of budget 2026 and this Government, it is also important to recognise that tackling this issue requires sustained and continued action. These cross-government actions will be outlined in the successor to the national poverty strategy, the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026- 2030. The follow-up document is currently being developed by my Department. This will be launched in the first half of 2026 and will have a very specific focus on child poverty.

Our commitment to reducing child poverty is also reflected in our investment in concrete supports. The last two budgets each contained the largest social welfare packages in the history of the State and included increases in core rates, including child benefit, as well as, in the context of this discussion, the targeted payments of child support payment and the working family payment.

The Government has also invested heavily in services for families and children, including, for example, the expansion of hot school meals and free school books. The hot school meals programme is an investment of €300 million every year and makes the difference for many children as to whether they get a hot meal on that day or not. These measures have yet to be reflected in the latest poverty statistics. It takes time for progress to be reflected in the official data. However, we are determined to continue to try and reduce child poverty, and we know that much remains to be done.

In relation to budget 2026 we are very aware of, and are making clear, the importance of directing support to families with children where it is most needed. We know from research that effective means of achieving this are through targeted measures, in particular the child support and working family payments. In line with our programme for Government commitments, we are continuing to explore a targeted second-tier child benefit payment. This work is under way. It will not be part of budget 2026. However, the investment in child support and the working family payment is still quite significant.

The Senator’s concerns about homelessness are shared by the Government. We fully recognise that supporting families on low incomes with housing costs, but, more importantly, preventing and reducing family homelessness, is a key issue and a cornerstone of tackling child poverty. That is why measures to accelerate the delivery of social, affordable and cost rental homes as well as targeted measures to support families in long-term homelessness are key considerations for budget 2026.