Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 19: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when he expects the publication of the national action plan against poverty and social exclusion 2006 to 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43245/06]

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 63: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when he plans to publish the promised new two year social inclusion action plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43128/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 63 together.

In line with a commitment in the social partnership agreement 'Towards 2016', a new National Action Plan for Social Inclusion (NAP inclusion 2007-2016) is currently being prepared by the Office for Social Inclusion in my Department. The Plan will be launched early in 2007 and is being prepared in tandem with and will complement the forthcoming National Development Plan 2007-2013, which will contain a specific chapter on social inclusion. In keeping with the approach taken in the original 1997 National Anti-Poverty Strategy the new plan will adopt a strategic approach reflecting the complex nature of poverty and social exclusion, which is multi-faceted in its causes and effects and, as a consequence, requires a multi-pronged response across a range of policy areas.

These strategies will build on the lifecycle approach in 'Towards 2016', by assessing the risks which individuals face at each stage of the lifecycle and the supports they need to meet these risks. The groups focussed on using this lifecycle approach are Children, People of Working Age, Older People and People with Disabilities. This strategic framework is also being designed to create more coherent and integrated structures to achieve more effective implementation. It will also facilitate better and more effective reporting and monitoring across the spectrum of government activity in the area of poverty and social inclusion.

The ten-year timescale chosen for the new plan both complements that of Towards 2016 and recognises that policy responses to poverty and social exclusion often require time to achieve their full results. The plan, however, will be reviewed at regular intervals, with the first review taking place in 2008.

In the ten years since the first NAPS, much has been achieved in Ireland towards the EU aim of making a decisive impact on poverty. Much has also been learned, both from our own experience in Ireland and from that of other Member States, on how more effective, coordinated implementation of strategies can be achieved. Full account will be taken of this learning in developing the new Action Plan and the arrangements for its implementation.

My aim and that of the Government is to continue to build not just a prosperous but a fair and equitable society in Ireland, which values and supports its people and particularly its most vulnerable. I am determined to ensure that this Plan and its implementation, in full consultation with all the stakeholders at national, regional and local levels, will make a major contribution to building the type of society we aspire to, by making a truly decisive impact on poverty.