Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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763. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the estimated number of children in consistent poverty and experiencing deprivation; the way in which these figures compare to the European average; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32906/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In Ireland, consistent poverty at the household level is defined as having a household income below 60% of the median household income andexperiencing basic deprivation (measured as lacking 2 or more of a list of 11 basic necessities).

The latest national data from the CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) for 2015 shows that the number of children in consistent poverty in 2015 was 139,000, a decrease of 13,000 children on the 2014 figure. The number of children experiencing basic deprivation in 2015 was 380,000, a decrease of 52,000 children on the 2014 figure.

EUROSTAT does not produce a measure precisely equivalent to the Irish measures of consistent poverty or basic deprivation. However, based on published EUROSTAT data it is possible to produce a hybrid EU estimate of consistent poverty which is a measure of those children that are both at risk of poverty and “severely materially deprived”. The EUROSTAT 2015 data show that 3% (49,000) of children in Ireland experienced consistent poverty on this hybrid measure, compared to an EU28 average of 4%. Some 7.5% (112,000) of children in Ireland were severely materially deprived in 2015, as compared to an EU28 average rate of 8%.

The Government’s strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion is set out in the updated National Action Plan for Social Inclusion. The Plan identifies a wide range of targeted actions and interventions to achieve the overall objective of reducing consistent poverty, including four specific high-level goals for children. The Department will review the Plan this year, as it reaches the end of its current term, with a view to developing an updated plan for future periods. This review will be undertaken in consultation with relevant stakeholders.