Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, as promised in the NAPS, child poverty will be substantially reduced or eliminated by 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17152/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Tackling child poverty has been and continues to be among my key priorities. Strategies to address child poverty and the measures to give effect to them are set out in the national action plan against poverty and social exclusion and in the national children's strategy. The importance of tackling child poverty is reflected in the fact that "Ending Child Poverty" is one of ten Sustaining Progress special initiatives.

The overall target is to reduce the number of children who are defined as consistently poor to below 2% by 2007 and, if possible, to eliminate consistent poverty amongst children by then. The Living in Ireland survey, LIIS, which is the only current relevant survey allowing multiple years analysis, showed that from 1997 to 2001, the number of children who are consistently poor fell from 15.3% to 6.5%. The LIIS was discontinued and has been replaced by the EU survey of income and living conditions, EU SILC.

The EU SILC, based on a different methodology, indicated a consistent child poverty rate of 14.6%. In consideration of the previous continuous falls in the consistent child poverty rates and the ongoing substantial increases by this Government in child and family supports, the EU SILC rate does not suggest that child poverty has increased. It is a fact that different surveys give different results.

However, despite the extremely positive and targeted action taken by the Government and the record levels of spending on social welfare, there are vulnerable groups, including children, who struggle on the margins of society. It is, therefore, necessary to intensify the efforts made to eradicate poverty and social exclusion, particularly among persons in these vulnerable groups. One of the key factors underpinning the reduction in child poverty is the reduction in the numbers of parents who are unemployed. Our aim is to continue to maintain high levels of employment and to remove obstacles to taking up employment, especially for lone parents and parents with large families.

The most significant measure to date to tackle child poverty by my Department has been the substantial increases in child benefit payment rates. Between 1997 and 2005, the rate of child benefit rose from €38.09 per month for the first two children and €49.52 for each child thereafter to €141.60 per month for each of the first two children and to €177.30 per month for the third and each subsequent child. Child benefit is paid to more than 540,000 families in respect of approximately 1 million children, at an estimated cost of €1.916 billion in 2005. It delivers a standard rate of payment in respect of all children in a family regardless of income levels or employment status.

Through the family income supplement scheme, my Department provides cash support by way of weekly payments to families, including lone parent families, at work on low pay. Recent improvements to the scheme, including the assessment of entitlements on the basis of net rather than gross income and progressive increases in the income limits, have made it easier for lower income households to qualify under the scheme.

I await completion of a study being carried out by the NESC on amalgamating social welfare child dependant allowances with family income supplement payments, as a second tier of support to channel extra resources to low income families without creating disincentives to employment. In addition, a sub-group of the senior officials group on social inclusion has commenced examining obstacles to employment for lone parent families. My Department is also participating in an interdepartmental working group on early child care and education, chaired by the National Children's Office. The work of this committee is at an advanced stage and the outcome will make an important contribution to finding the right mix of services and income support to facilitate employment take up and care for children.

The causes of poverty among children and its effects are multi-faceted and require a multi-policy response. A wide range of data are required in effectively monitoring, evaluating and further developing such policies. It is for that reason that my Department and the Department of Health and Children, through the National Children's Office, are jointly funding a national longitudinal study on children. The study will be the most significant of its kind to be undertaken here, particularly in terms of the cost, scope and length of study period. It is anticipated that 10,000 children from birth and 8,000 children aged nine years will be selected to participate in the study, which is expected to commence later in 2005.

Assisting and supporting vulnerable families and their children and older people is one of our main challenges as a society. Through the initiatives it is taking under its strategy to combat poverty and social exclusion, the Government is giving priority to working to ensure that vulnerable families and their children have a fair share of life chances and quality of life.