Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 160: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on the statement by the Combat Poverty Agency in its annual report that over one in ten children are living in consistent poverty, that Ireland's level of child poverty remains high by European standards and that Ireland has a relatively low level of service provision for families and children; the measure he will take to alleviate child poverty in view of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20789/07]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on the recent annual report of the Combat Poverty Agency and particularly the finding that Ireland has the third highest level of child poverty in the EU; the steps he will take to address this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20708/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 160 and 182 together.

The annual report of the Combat Poverty Agency for 2006 which I launched on 4 September, 2007 contains details of the progress made by the Agency on its strategic plan 'Working for a Poverty-Free Ireland'. It contains inter alia details of its findings in relation to child poverty and it highlights the importance of services such as health, education and services for families in tackling poverty and promoting social inclusion.

The reduction and eventual elimination of child poverty is a top priority for the Government. It is at the core of the strategic process to combat poverty and social exclusion and this is reflected in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion (NAPinclusion) and the social inclusion commitments in the National Development Plan (NDP). This strategic process was developed in consultation with the social partners and after wide ranging consultation with other stakeholders. The NAPinclusion adopts a lifecycle approach, in line with Towards 2016 . The purpose is to promote a coordinated and integrated approach to dealing with the specific needs of each lifecycle group across all relevant policies and among the institutions at both national and local levels responsible for implementing these policies. Specific measurable goals are set for each group.

State support for children and their families is essential, especially in the case young couples in the early stages of their working lives when earnings are lower and outgoings higher than is the case at later stages of the lifecycle. Four of the twelve high level goals in the NAPinclusion, therefore, focus on providing significant real increases in income supports for children and on targeted education initiatives. Children growing up in low income or jobless households are the most vulnerable to poverty. Care of children can create obstacles to accessing employment, especially employment that is full time and well paid. The most vulnerable groups in this regard are lone parents and larger families with 3 or more children. The most effective approach is to remove the obstacles to employment and create real incentives that will enable these parents to achieve a satisfactory work/life balance. This approach requires facilitating both care for children and employment participation that provides a decent income. The NAPinclusion provides in the case of the Working Age lifecycle for a case management approach that will put the necessary supports in place to enable parents in vulnerable situations to overcome obstacles to achieving this work/life balance. It requires, in particular, appropriate income support, child care services, and education and training, all of which are being provided for in the NAPinclusion and the NDP.

The Combat Poverty Agency report compares child poverty rates across Europe using the relative income poverty or 'at risk of poverty' measure, which is used extensively for international comparisons. However, the limitations of this poverty indicator, based just on income, are now recognised internationally. There is a consensus emerging that it should be complemented by an indicator that measures non financial material deprivation. It is considered that this approach would provide a clearer and more accurate measure of actual poverty and the vulnerable groups who are experiencing it. A recent OECD Study is one of the first to provide international comparisons of the proportion of households experiencing non financial material deprivation and some of the findings are included in its 2006 edition of Society at a Glance. It uses a much wider series of deprivation indicators than that used, for example, for the consistent poverty indicator in Ireland and is not confined, as in Ireland, to those classified as a t risk of poverty.

It shows nevertheless that the levels of material deprivation in Ireland across virtually all the various indicators are below and, in some cases, well below the average for OECD countries. Virtually all countries with low levels of deprivation also shown to have high levels of GDP per capita and Ireland is among that group of countries. This underlines the key importance of economic growth and the high levels of employment it creates in reducing poverty.

Significant progress has been made in reducing child poverty over the past decade. The latest EU-SILC survey shows the proportion of children in consistent poverty has reduced from 12.2 per cent in 2003 to 10.2 per cent in 2005. The Government is determined to build on this progress. The social welfare commitments in the Programme for Government prioritise the objectives of the NAPinclusion. They include; improvements in support for Lone Parents; in the State Pension and the Carers Allowance, in Child Benefit and in the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance and the School Meals Programme. Support for the Office for Social Inclusion is a key commitment, in particular, for its work to progress the use of poverty impact assessments by government departments, local authorities and statutory agencies in the development of policies and programmes and the delivery of services to ensure that the Government's social inclusion agenda is achieved. My plans, in working with Government to deliver the programme over the coming years, are to build on the significant and visible progress already made in reducing child poverty. This will be a key part of the commitment in the NAPinclusion to reduce consistent poverty to between 4% and 2% by 2012, with the aim of eliminating it by 2016. It will involve, in particular, delivering real improvements in living standards and well-being for the most vulnerable in our society, especially our children.