Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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63. To ask the Taoiseach for an update in respect of the Programme Plan for Child Well-being 2023-2025. [4927/25]

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office was established in the Department of the Taoiseach in Spring 2023 to prioritise action across government in areas that will have the greatest impact for children and families experiencing poverty.

From Poverty to Potential: A Programme Plan for Child Poverty and Well-being 2023-2025 was published in August 2023 and is the initial Programme Plan for the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office.

The Programme builds on six focus areas which have the potential to bring about significant change for families and children.

These are:

1.Income assistance and joblessness;

2.Early learning and childcare;

3.Reducing the cost of education;

4.Family homelessness;

5.Consolidating and integrating family and parental assistance, health and well-being and,

6.Enhancing participation in culture, arts and sport for children and young people affected by poverty.

The Programme Plan is intended to be a living and dynamic document. As we need to, we revisit our priorities to make sure we are focusing on those things that will really make a difference.

The role of the Department of the Taoiseach is to co-ordinate and focus government action. To help facilitate this, the Office has established a Cross-Government Network on Child Poverty and Well-being. The Network has met five times to date, with the next meeting due to take place soon.

On 23^rd May last year, the Programme Office hosted the inaugural Child Poverty and Well-Being Summit in Dublin Castle. This was a pivotal moment to take stock of progress and shape the agenda for future action on child poverty. A summary report on the Summit was published in Autumn last year.

Budget 2025 is the second year spending plans on child poverty and well-being were coordinated through the Programme Office. A wide range of initiatives in Budget 2025 support the cross-government ambition to reduce child poverty and enhance child well-being. I recently published the second Budget analysis of the Programme Office and it is now available on gov.ie.

The Programme Office’s first Progress Report, since its establishment in 2023, Child Poverty and Well-being in Transition: Learning and Adapting to Accelerate Change in Children’s Lives was published two weeks ago. The report describes progress updates for the six focus areas while acknowledging challenges and highlighting emerging lessons and priorities. The impact of the Programme Office is also outlined. This report is available on gov.ie.