Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I thank the Minister for coming in. The Taoiseach has been quoted as saying child poverty will be prioritised in the forthcoming budget. This is so welcome. We are all looking forward to hearing the budget. It has been widely reported that the latest ESRI report said that in 2025 Irish children are suffering the highest income poverty rates of all age groups. I do not need to tell the Minister that child poverty and homelessness affects all aspects of life - health, well-being, education and future careers. Children who experience poverty or homelessness are more likely to be poor or homeless as adults. There are three particular aspects which I want to address today. The first is childhood hunger or food poverty, the second is fuel poverty and the third is homelessness.

We all know there are children all over the country who are hungry, cold and living with a real fear of eviction. There are large numbers of families who feel real despair about their futures. The Labour Party raised a motion on this in the Dáil last week. I want to hear what the Minister and his Department are prioritising to challenge and eradicate the three aspects of child poverty. According to the ESRI, one in five children now lives below the poverty line once housing costs are factored in, which is a shocking statistic for a country as rich as ours. A survey carried out at the end of 2024 found that almost half of teachers believed that more children than ever before were coming to school hungry and that the direct cause of this hunger is the cost-of-living crisis. According to the CSO, general inflation is under control but food inflation continues to grow at a rate of almost 5%, with the price of staples essential for a child’s development and growth, such as milk, eggs and beef, increasing rapidly. Nobody doing their weekly shop can have avoided noticing their increasing bills. Two years ago, Barnardos reported that 24% of parents borrowed money just to feed a child, 12% use a food bank and 41% - nearly half – of parents skipped or reduced their own meals to feed a child.

Going to school hungry and going to bed hungry are realities which seem to have become normal, even acceptable, to some. They are not normal, they will never be normal and they will never be acceptable. Around 300,000 electricity customers are now in arrears, many of them families with children. Children living in damp and cold homes cannot thrive and suffer increased levels of ill health which will be with them for the rest of their lives. Electricity bills have risen by 69% and gas bills by 102% since January 2021. These are staggering increases but inflation figures, whether in food or energy, do not tell the true story of families living in poverty. The choice between heating your home and eating is stark. No child should be homeless yet 5,000 children are homeless currently.

In the forthcoming budget, what real steps will be included to eradicate child poverty? Will there be a policy or strategy to eradicate child poverty? We, as a party, are calling for an outright ban on evictions where children are involved. That is not something that cannot be asked. There should be no way for children to be evicted into homelessness. I ask for clarification on the commitments to protect children that go beyond the provision of school meals. I raised this on the Order of Business last week. School meals are really welcome but they are not enough. If a child is living in poverty now, what will that mean for his or her future? I want to know the exact steps that are coming in the budget.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

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.

Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

It is welcome to hear there will be targeted measures. It is unfortunate there will not be a second tier of child benefit in this budget. It comes back to the real issue about homelessness. We know it from all around the country.A ban on evicting could be introduced quickly and easily which would stop the eviction of a family who has received a notice to quit until social housing is built. I acknowledge the commitment to build more social housing but, in the meantime, children are being evicted into homelessness and we know the impact of that will live with them for the rest of their lives. I am disappointed to hear that this issue cannot be addressed in this budget but I appreciate the Minister coming in. We still have a week to go before the budget is announced so I hope that will be something that can be looked at again to bring in a ban on evicting children into homelessness.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Ultimately, it is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is also important to reflect on the fact that the Government, since we came to office, established the child poverty and well-being programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach and is at the heart of the Government, with cross-departmental responsibilities. The office is currently working on a dashboard which will enable us all to measure progress. Rather than the siloed way of doing things, the dashboard will be able to show us where we are making progress but, most importantly, where we are not achieving things, and then we will definitely be able to get a focus.

I have spoken about the new child poverty target. We are now looking at targeted increases in supports, such as the child support payment and the working family payment, to go directly to families on low incomes, thus supporting children. We continue to expand the hot school meals programme. By the end of this year every primary school in the country will have access to the programme. There is expansion of the national childcare scheme and the free schoolbooks scheme. It is absolutely not enough. The Taoiseach keeps all of our feet to the fire in respect of child poverty. We want to reach the target of 3% by the end of our term of office but, more importantly, 3% or less.