Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on a report by the Central Statistics Office of January 2005, which revealed that nearly 15% of children here under the age of 15 were living in consistent poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6052/05]

Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 84: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the progress to date on the eradication of consistent poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6059/05]

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 104: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the action he plans to take on foot of the recent EU-SILC survey which found that 23% of the population is at risk of poverty and that 9% of the population is classed as consistently poor; if this is not a damning indictment of Government anti-poverty policies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5898/05]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 119: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on the opinion of the charity Barnardos that 66,000 children here currently live in consistent poverty. [6076/05]

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the way in which he intends to respond to the findings of the recent EU-SILC survey, which shows that children, women and older persons have a greater risk of poverty than their counterparts in other European Union countries. [6070/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 79, 84, 104, 119, 121 and 125 together.

The results from the 2003 EU Survey of Income and Living Conditions, EU-SILC, released last month by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, are a valuable addition to the research already undertaken into income, living standards and the extent of poverty in Ireland. The new survey identifies groups at risk of poverty including families with children, especially lone parents and large families on low incomes, those with disabilities, the long-term unemployed and the elderly, especially those living alone.

Considerable progress has been and is being made in alleviating poverty. This progress, however, is masked by the fact that incomes generally have been increasing substantially as a result of the high levels of both economic and employment growth achieved in recent years.

Despite major increases in social welfare payments and improvements in public services generally, those who are not in employment, such as the elderly, or only in a position to secure low paid or part-time employment, such as many lone parents, have not been able to share fully in the fruits of the increasing prosperity.

A key target of Government policy under the national anti-poverty strategy has been to reduce to below 2%, or eliminate fully, consistent poverty, which measures deprivation of goods and services considered essential in today's Ireland. Significant progress has been made with levels of consistent poverty being reduced from 15.1% in 1994 to 5.2% in 2001, and in the case of children from 15.3% in 1997 to 6.5% in 2001.

A somewhat different methodology and approach was adopted for the EU-SILC survey which resulted in higher percentages for those experiencing consistent poverty, reversing the trend of recent years. Both the CSO, and the Economic and Social Research Institute, which conducted the earlier surveys, have assured me that the outcomes of both surveys are not comparable. It is, therefore, not possible to conclude from them whether the rates for consistent poverty went up or down or remained unchanged.

There is certainly no reason to believe that there has been a worsening in poverty levels in recent years. Between 2001 and 2005, spending on social welfare has increased from €7.8 billion to €12.2 billion. During the same period the lowest social welfare rates have increased by 40% while the consumer price index has increased by just over 13%. As a result of Budget 2005, welfare payments have increased by three times the expected rate of inflation. The real improvement resulting from these developments is commented on in the EU- SILC report.

The EU-SILC survey shows, as in previous surveys, the groups who are most vulnerable to poverty. The main route out of this vulnerability for those in the working age groups, especially in households with children, is employment.

A major ongoing priority will be to remove the obstacles to employment for those groups and work to provide the incentives and supports they need to obtain employment such as education, training, help with job search, and child care.

In relation to income support, serious consideration is now being given to the introduction of a second tier of supports — in addition to the child benefit and other support entitlements — aimed specifically at addressing those children most at risk. Linked to this particularly are the vulnerable circumstances of many lone parents, who are mostly women. The existing support systems will be scrutinised over the coming months and changes considered that more adequately reflect the needs of this group in a 21st century Ireland. My Department is also involved in efforts to develop a strategy to eliminate obstacles to employment for lone parents.

Among those no longer able to work, especially the elderly, we need to give priority to identifying and providing support for those who are most vulnerable, especially those living alone.

The National Action Plan against Poverty and Social Exclusion, NAP-inclusion, provides a clear strategic basis for making progress in all these areas in a coherent, planned way.

Progress on the implementation of the plan was reported in the First Annual Report of the Office for Social Inclusion, OSI, which I launched last December. A report to the European Commission evaluating the implementation of the plan will be prepared by OSI for submission in June 2005 and publication shortly afterwards. These reviews and evaluations, together with the ongoing annual survey results from EU-SILC, will help to inform the development of the next NAP-inclusion, which is due to commence in 2006 and will apply up to 2009.