Written answers

Thursday, 19 June 2025

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Child Poverty

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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159. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the steps he will take to address the massive rise in consistent poverty among children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33028/25]

Photo of Mark WallMark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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175. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his views on a report on child poverty (details supplied); and if he will outline the actions he is taking to address the concerns raised. [33122/25]

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 175 together.

The Government welcomes the publication of the fourth Child Poverty Monitor by the Children’s Right Alliance.While the latest SILC 2024 data contained in the Child Poverty Monitor, which saw Child Poverty rise from 4.8% in SILC 2023 to 8.5% in SILC 2024, is very disappointing, it is important to recognise that they do not reflect the Government’s full response to child poverty in recent years.In 2023, the year in which the SILC income data was collected, the Government had not yet brought in free school meals for all primary schools, or free schoolbooks at second level. These supports will make a difference to children in poverty and will be reflected in poverty figures in future.Similarly, the significant increases in social welfare contained in Budget 2024 and the associated cost of living measures worth over €2.3 billion were not included in the SILC statistics.The Government' determination to reduce child poverty is reflected in the establishment of the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office in the Department of the Taoiseach in 2023. This coincided with the time period during which the latest SILC figures were collected.It takes time to see the impact of our work in the data, and that is why we are also determined to keep making progress, even if that is not always immediately reflective in the statistics. We are determined and committed to see this commitment through.Government is clear that we need to target support where they are needed most, and I am particularly concerned about what is happening to families on the lowest incomes. That is why we increased the Child Support Payment significantly in Budget 2025, and the threshold for Working Family Payment.Budget 2025 also included lump sum payments to those in receipt of the Child Support Payment and Working Family Payment.Government is committed to setting an ambitious national Child Poverty target under the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 and this was reiterated in the Programme for Government.The Department of the Taoiseach has recently convened a series of meetings with key stakeholders on the development of a new national child poverty target and the range of measures required to achieve same and I expect to be in a position to submit a recommendation on the setting of a new target to Government in the near future.

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