Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I am committed to supporting the broader Government action to combat child poverty. My Department is taking a series of actions in this regard.

Investment in early learning and childcare is at unprecedented levels, a clear demonstration from Government of the value of the sector. In 2024, my Department’s funding for the early learning and childcare sector will be €1.109 billion, an €83 million (8%) increase on last year’s funding.

This includes substantial affordability, accessibility and quality building measures. It provides for the roll out of the Equal Participation Model in 2024 to help children and their families who may be experiencing disadvantage to access Early Learning and Childcare settings.

Young Ireland: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2023-2028, was published in November. Child poverty is a spotlight area in Young Ireland, and my Department is working closely with the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office in the Department of the Taoiseach to establish robust governance structures to ensure progress is made on the key areas.

As part of the European Child Guarantee, my Department is committed to establishing four pilot Child Poverty Local Area Action Plans in Children and Young People’s Services Committees areas.

My Department's UBU Your Place Your Space youth funding scheme seeks to provide out-of-school supports to marginalised, disadvantaged or vulnerable young people to overcome significant challenges and achieve their potential. In 2023, over €46m was allocated to UBU funded organisations.

I remain committed to building a robust evidence base to inform policy decisions on combating child poverty into the future, having commissioned published research from the ESRI and Maynooth University on the topic of child poverty in recent years, including lone parents' transitions into and out of poverty and the effect of employment transitions on poverty outcomes. Officials in my Department are also working with the Department of Social Protection to develop new child poverty targets.