Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The most up to date data on poverty in Ireland is contained in the CSO’s annual Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) results. The latest statistical data available from the CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions (and from Eurostat) are used to analyse trends in official poverty measures and other supporting indicators. The official Government approved poverty measure used in Ireland is 'consistent poverty'. This indicator is the overlap of two component indicators, at-risk-of-poverty and basic deprivation.

The Government’s strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion is set out in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion. The plan prioritises 14 high level goals in relation to children, people of working age, older people and communities across Departments and agencies with a remit in social policy. The overall poverty reduction goal in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion is the National Social Target for Poverty Reduction (NSTPR). The NSTPR aims to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or less by 2020, from a baseline rate of 6.3% in 2010 with an interim target of to 4% by 2016.

Two components of the NSTPR are:

- The Irish contribution to the Europe 2020 poverty target is to reduce by a minimum of 200,000 the population in 'combined poverty' (i.e. consistent poverty, at-risk-of-poverty or basic deprivation) between 2010 and 2020.

- The child-specific poverty target is to lift over 70,000 children (aged 0-17 years) out of consistent poverty by 2020, a reduction of at least two-thirds on the 2011 level.

Progress towards the National Social Target for Poverty Reduction, including the sub-target on child poverty and Ireland’s contribution to the Europe 2020 poverty target is reported annually in the Social Inclusion Monitor.