John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

611. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the specific targets and supporting actions of the new national anti-poverty strategy to reduce poverty rates in one parent households; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3276/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Tackling poverty remains a fundamental aspiration of Irish society and the Programme for a Partnership Government includes a firm commitment to develop a new Integrated Framework for Social Inclusion, to tackle inequality and poverty. This will be a successor to the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016 (NAP inclusion) and its 2015-2017 update which concluded last year.

My Department has started preparations for the new four year plan for the period 2018-202, with the public consultation process due to take place in the coming weeks. Like its predecessor, the plan will have a ‘whole of Government’ approach that aims to improve outcomes for the vulnerable and marginalised in our society, while recognising a shared responsibility across Government to implement actions to achieve the overall objectives. The theme of the new plan is one of active inclusion, which will enable every citizen, notably the most disadvantaged, to fully participate in society, including having a job.

The primary focus will be the reduction of consistent poverty through a three pronged approach: supporting incomes through as high as possible a level of employment, and encouraging and assisting people to enter the workforce; setting targets for the level of relevant welfare payments (as in the original NAP inclusion) designed to reduce relative poverty among those who cannot (or cannot find) work; and finally improving access to quality services such as health, education, childcare, training, housing, community supports in order to minimise deprivation for all groups and, in particular those who are on relatively low incomes such as one parent families.

A key element of NAP inclusion is the national social target for poverty reduction (NSTPR), which sets out the Government’s ambition for reducing and ultimately eliminating poverty. The headline target is to reduce consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less by 2020 (with an interim target of 4 per cent by 2016), from the 2010 baseline rate of 6.3 per cent. In addition, there are sub-targets in relation to children and for Ireland’s contribution to the Europe 2020 poverty target. Meeting these targets – or indeed making significant progress towards them – by the 2020 deadline will be a challenge and one that will require the combined efforts of all Government Departments, boosted by the resources and commitment of civil society. However it will remain a key element of the new plan.