Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1013. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will immediately establish a new National Child Poverty Plan with a dedicated unit that encompasses an integrated and cross-governmental approach to address high levels of poverty in households headed by one parent. [2265/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Firstly, responsibility for provision of welfare payments aimed at addressing the needs of those experiencing poverty rests with Dept Social Protection.

My Department works with other Departments in ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to deliver a fair, equal and inclusive society.

A key plank in the cross-Government work is the delivery of Ireland's National Action Plan under the EU Child Guarantee. This Action Plan was approved by Government on 31 May 2022 and subsequently submitted to the European Commission and published on both www.gov.ie and ec.europa.eu.

(In 2019, the European Commission announced the creation of an EU Child Guarantee with a view to ensuring that every child in Europe at risk of poverty or social exclusion has access to the most basic of rights like healthcare and education. The objective of the Child Guarantee is to prevent and combat social exclusion by guaranteeing the access of children in need to a set of key services.)

The National Action Plan sets out the responses to barriers identified by Departments across Government, and informed by consultations with stakeholders, in the provision of services to children referred to in the EU Child Guarantee Recommendation.

Ireland’s National Action Plan details efforts, in accordance with the aims of the Guarantee, to address child poverty and social exclusion in Ireland and, in so doing, highlights key strategies currently in play. The key areas of the Plan refer to actions, objectives, targets and timelines - addressing some of the key barriers identified – in each of the sectors of Education, Early Years, Health, Nutrition and Housing. The successor framework to Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, the National Framework for Children and Young People, will provide an enabling policy framework for the Action Plan.

The National Action Plan references work by the Department of Social Protection to support lone-parents, through income supports such as the One-Parent Family Payment and Jobseekers Transitional Payment (targeted for lone-parents).

The publication of the National Action Plan was an important first step in the implementation of the EU Child Guarantee.

My Department is coordinating actions across Government in addition to holding responsibility for the delivery of actions contained in this Plan relating to Early Childhood Education and Care. The delivery of other key actions in the plan will be a matter for the parent Department holding policy and operational responsibility. In this regard, the Departments of Social Protection, Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Education and Health are critical stakeholders.

Identifying the most appropriate and effective structures to pursue the reforms necessary to improve outcomes for our most disadvantaged children and young people is a particular focus of work. In this regard, the new National Framework for Children and Young People, currently under development, and its cross-government and cross-sectoral engagement will inform the implementation of the Child Guarantee National Action Plan.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Taoiseach has recently announced his intention to establish a new child poverty and wellbeing unit in his department to co-ordinate cross-departmental activity in this area and my officials will work with colleagues across government in supporting this work.