Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 51: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the action he intends to take as a result of his decision to make child poverty a priority for the social reform agenda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37273/05]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 78: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the way in which he intends to address the issue of child poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37268/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 78 together.

The reduction and eventual elimination of child poverty are at the core of the strategic process to combat poverty and social exclusion, a priority shared internationally. The OECD in a report to social affairs ministers in April of this year pointed out that "children who grow up in disadvantaged households are more likely to do poorly at school, to struggle to find a job, and to be unemployed, sick or disabled when they become adults, precipitating an inter generational cycle of disadvantage and deprivation".

A strategic process for combating and eventually eliminating child poverty, together with specific measures to meet the objectives of the process, is already in train under the national action plan against poverty and social exclusion and the national children's strategy. Ending Child Poverty is also one of ten special initiatives in Sustaining Progress.

The most significant measure my Department has taken in recent years to support families with children has been the very substantial real 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. This equates to real increases over the period in excess of 170%. Child benefit is paid to over 540,000 families in respect of approximately 1 million children, at an estimated cost of €1.9 billion in 2005.

Through the family income supplement scheme, my Department provides cash support by way of weekly payments to 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 more lower-income households to qualify under the scheme. Child dependant allowances are also paid to recipients of weekly social welfare payments.

Most children at risk of poverty live in jobless households, where there is no full-time or part-time employment. The major increase over the past decade in employment, including the increased participation of women in employment, has made a significant contribution to reducing the risk of poverty for children.

The provision of affordable and flexible child care is a key factor in facilitating employment participation for families with children. My Department is 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.

A subgroup of the senior officials group on social inclusion has been undertaking a detailed examination of obstacles to employment for lone parents. As part of this work, my Department is nearing the completion of a review of income supports which I expect to be finalised in the near future. I expect shortly to receive proposals from the National Economic and Social Council on the structures needed to introduce a second tier of financial supports, in addition to child benefit and other entitlements, aimed specifically at helping those children most in need.

Given the central importance of combating child poverty, the extensive range of policies required and the resources involved, we need to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of the these policies on the development of our children and get the necessary evidence on what works and works well. This process is about to commence with a major national longitudinal study on children. My Department and the Department of Health and Children, through the National Children's Office, are jointly funding this study. 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 will be recruited to participate in the study.

I am confident that, through the measures already being taken and the initiatives being planned, we will make a decisive impact of combating poverty, especially among children, and in ensuring that all the nation's children have a good quality of life and a fair share of life. These policy areas also form key elements of Government actions relating to children and families' chances.