Written answers

Thursday, 7 April 2022

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Child Poverty

Photo of Jennifer WhitmoreJennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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314. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 in relation to child poverty considering the context of rising inflation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18936/22]

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 Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 is a whole of Government strategy, which aims to reduce consistent poverty and improve social inclusion in Ireland, with specific commitments focusing on children and families. The Roadmap 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 in 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 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; and

- 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 Roadmap commitments under the Department’s remit to support children and families, such as the extension of 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 and

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

Progress in relation to the implementation of Roadmap commitments over the period January 2020 to September 2021 was published in January.

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), who would be vulnerable to child poverty.

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.

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