Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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481. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on the pilot food poverty programme announced in budget 2023; the timeline for implementation of the programme; if there has been any work undertaken by her Department to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24593/23]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 is the whole of Government strategy to reduce poverty and improve social inclusion in Ireland. It includes seven high-level goals and 66 unique commitments. Goal 7 of the Roadmap is to “ensure that all people can live with confidence that they have access to good quality healthcare, housing, energy and food.” Commitment 61 of the Roadmap commits Government to “develop a comprehensive programme of work to further explore the drivers of food poverty and to identify mitigating actions.”

The Food Poverty Working Group, which I chair, was established in April 2021 and aims to tackle the issue of food poverty in accordance with this commitment. To further advance this commitment, Budget 2023 provided €400,000 to introduce a pilot scheme, based on a case work model, to support people experiencing food poverty. The pilot programme will consist of providing a case worker service in a small number of different counties in Ireland, by organisations involved in emergency food provision (directly or indirectly). The pilot is to run for an 18-month period.

The Department published a Request for Tender on 8th March 2023 with a closing date of 11th May 2023. The tender evaluation process has now commenced with the pilot due to launch later this summer.