Written answers

Thursday, 3 February 2022

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Child Poverty

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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106. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on whether the rising cost of living will further worsen child poverty; and the measures she will take to address same. [5404/22]

Photo of Joe O'BrienJoe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The cost of living, having remained relatively flat for a number of years, has seen an increase in recent months. The Government's Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 is the national policy for poverty reduction and improved social inclusion. Its key aim is to reduce the level of consistent poverty to 2% or less with an associated goal to reduce child poverty in Ireland and to ensure that all families have the opportunity to participate fully in society. It recognises the importance of child related services working in conjunction with income supports in reducing child poverty.

The most recent data from the 2020 Survey on Income and Living Conditions was published on 17 December 2021. It shows the consistent poverty rate for children was 8.0%, which is in line with trends in recent years, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 sets out a number of key measures to reduce this figure significantly.

The Government will continue to focus on measures aimed at reducing the number of children experiencing poverty. The Department of Social Protection offers a range of supports to children and families to alleviate poverty. Recent Budgets have consistently targeted supports on reducing the number of children in poverty and deprivation. This reflects the Roadmap commitment to continue to target a reduction in poverty among children and families on low incomes as part of the annual budget process. In line with this approach, Budget 2022 included:

- an increase of €5 per week to all Working Age payments with proportionate increases for qualified adults

- an increase to the weekly qualified child payment by €2 to €40 for children up to age 12, and by €3 to €48 for children aged over 12

- an increase of €10 per week in the Working Family Payment thresholds for families of all sizes

- an increase of €10 in the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) for older and younger children, accompanied by an increase in the weekly income limit for receipt of BSCFA for a one parent household to match that of a two-parent household.

This has occurred alongside measures under the Department’s remit to support children and families, such as the extension of the Parent’s Benefit; the provision of the School Meals programme; and the development and rollout of the Hot School Meals Programme.

The above-mentioned supports are accompanied by a range of measures delivered across Government, including:

- prevention and early intervention initiatives and supports for parents through the work of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, including implementation of the First 5 Strategy.

- the rollout of free GP care to children and the provision of medical cards to families on low incomes under the Department of Health.

- the continuing delivery of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme by the Department of Education.

The social impact assessment of Budget 2022, produced by the Department using the ESRI's tax-benefit model, SWITCH, found that the tax and welfare measures in Budget 2022 most positively impacted non-earning parents (both single and couples). These families would be vulnerable to child poverty. This research briefing is available under the Social Inclusion publications available on gov.ie.

Official poverty data from the 2021 Survey on Income and Living Conditions is expected to be released by the CSO in April 2022 and will provide a more up-to-date picture of poverty levels, including child poverty, in Ireland.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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