Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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42. To ask the Taoiseach to report on the work of the child poverty and well-being programme in his Department. [5805/25]

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are retaining the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office in the Department of the Taoiseach because we know we need to continue to build on the work to break down silos between departments and drive delivery.

We will not be able to make a decisive impact on child poverty without a whole of government and whole of society response.

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:

·Income assistance and joblessness;

·Early learning and childcare;

·Reducing the cost of education;

·Family homelessness;

·Consolidating and integrating family and parental assistance, health and well-being;

·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. In 2025, we will start to develop the second Programme Plan for the Office and will consider carefully what we have learned so far and what remains to be done.

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 23rd May last year, the Programme Office hosted the inaugural Child Poverty and Well-Being Summit. This was a pivotal moment to take stock and shape the agenda for future action. I am very much looking forward to hosting the second Summit later in the year.

Budget 2025 is the second year spending plans on child poverty and well-being were coordinated through the Programme Office. The second Budget Report captures a wide range of initiatives in Budget 2025 which reflect the cross-government ambition to reduce child poverty and enhance child well-being.

I was delighted to recently publish the Programme Office’s first Progress Report, Child Poverty and Well-being in Transition: Learning and Adapting to Accelerate Change in Children’s Lives. The report presents 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.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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43. To ask the Taoiseach to report on the work of the child poverty and well-being programme office in respect of addressing one of its six priority areas: child and family homelessness. [6426/25]

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are retaining the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office in the Department of the Taoiseach because we know we need to continue to build on the work to break down silos between departments and drive delivery.

We will not be able to make a decisive impact on child poverty without a whole of government and whole of society response.

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:

·Income assistance and joblessness;

·Early learning and childcare;

·Reducing the cost of education;

·Family homelessness;

·Consolidating and integrating family and parental assistance, health and well-being;

·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. In 2025, we will start to develop the second Programme Plan for the Office and will consider carefully what we have learned so far and what remains to be done.

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 23rd May last year, the Programme Office hosted the inaugural Child Poverty and Well-Being Summit. This was a pivotal moment to take stock and shape the agenda for future action. I am very much looking forward to hosting the second Summit later in the year.

Budget 2025 is the second year spending plans on child poverty and well-being were coordinated through the Programme Office. The second Budget Report captures a wide range of initiatives in Budget 2025 which reflect the cross-government ambition to reduce child poverty and enhance child well-being.

I was delighted to recently publish the Programme Office’s first Progress Report, Child Poverty and Well-being in Transition: Learning and Adapting to Accelerate Change in Children’s Lives. The report presents 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.

Coming to the specific issue of family homelessness, this is one of the six priority areas for the Programme Office, and is specifically addressed in the first Progress Report.

In developing the budget reports and the progress report, the Office has worked across government to monitoring how we are responding to family homelessness. To support this work, last year the Office organised two cross-government workshops to take stock of our response to family homelessness.

We know that experiencing homelessness is devastating for children and for families. We have made good progress in preventing homelessness and supporting families to exit emergency accommodation, but we are still working to reverse the trends. We need to make sure that all children can grow up secure and happy. I am determined that we will make progress on this issue.