Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

113. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the progress which has been made to examine ways to lift more children in Ireland out of child poverty and the expected timeline for setting a new child poverty target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33128/25]

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

131. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will outline his targets regarding the eradication of child poverty; his efforts to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33203/25]

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

179. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when he expects to bring forward proposals on a new child poverty target; if he will outline his views on the measures which will be most impactful in reducing child poverty; if he has considered the introduction of a targeted child benefit payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32705/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 113, 131 and 179 together.

Government is keenly aware of welfare issues affecting children, particularly in relation to child poverty and the impact of cost-of-living increases in recent years. These issues formed a critical input into the development of recent Budget packages, which included social welfare packages which were the largest in the history of the State. These measures had a specific focus on helping children and families.Child poverty is a complex, multidimensional issue with the risk of a vicious cycle of lifetime and inter-generational consequences. Some groups of children are significantly more likely to live in poverty – Traveller and Roma families, larger families, and families headed by a person with a disability or who is unemployed. The latest SILC statistics published this year show that consistent poverty for children, which is the most relevant indicator for setting the child poverty target, increased from 4.8% in 2023 to 8.5% in 2024 for the 0-17 age group. 15.3% of children are at risk of poverty and with 8.5% living in consistent poverty, this represents an estimated number of 102, 977 children.It is important to note that these statistics do not take account of Budget 2024, Budget 2025 or any cost-of-living measures that were paid in 2024, as they are based on the 2023 incomes of those surveyed.The Roadmap for Social Inclusion, which includes a chapter on supporting children and families with the goal of reducing child poverty in Ireland and ensuring that all families can participate fully in society. The Roadmap also contains a commitment to set a new national child poverty target and this was reiterated in the Programme for Government. The Department of the Taoiseach has recently convened meetings with several stakeholders to discuss the Child Poverty Target and potential measures that can reduce child poverty. Officials from my Department have attended these meetings and following these discussions I expect to soon submit a proposal to Government on a new national child poverty target and an associated dashboard of indicators to monitor progress to same. While income supports are important, access to affordable and available services (housing, health, childcare, education etc.) plays an equally strong and potentially more sustainable role in addressing child poverty.