Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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77. To ask the Taoiseach for an update on the work of the child poverty unit in his Department. [49646/25]

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. The Programme Office was retained in the Programme for Government to continue the work to break down silos between departments and drive delivery.

Published in August 2023, the Programme Office’s initial Programme Plan, From Poverty to Potential: A Programme Plan for Child Poverty and Well-being 2023-2025, builds on six focus areas which have the potential to bring about significant change for families and children.

These focus areas 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 Office’s first Progress Report, Child Poverty and Well-being in Transition: Learning and Adapting to Accelerate Change in Children’s Lives was published in February of this year. Progress updates for the six focus areas were presented, challenges were acknowledged, and emerging lessons and priorities were highlighted.

The impact of the Programme Office was also outlined and the reports highlighted that the Programme Office has strengthened the cross-government focus on addressing child poverty. A copy of the report can be found on gov.ie: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-the-taoiseach/publications/progress-report/.

Annual Summit

Last month, I hosted the Programme Office’s annual summit on child poverty and well-being on the 11th of September in the Aviva Stadium. The Summit brought together leaders, policymakers, practitioners, and change-makers from across sectors to explore how we can drive systemic change that delivers results for children. It highlighted collaborative approaches, examined what is working, and surfaced bold ideas that are needed to address the structural barriers that keep children and families in poverty.

I was delighted to welcome Dr Mike Ryan, Deputy Director General of the World Health Organisation as the keynote speaker. Children’s participation was an integral part of the day and included an art exhibition, a specially written musical performance from Jimmy Maguire of Music Generation, and engagement with our Youth Advisory Group on Child Poverty and Well-being.

This year’s Summit will feed directly into the work of the Child Poverty Programme Office as well as helping inform the development of the office’s second Programme Plan. A summary report on the Summit will be published by the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office in due course.

Budget 2026

An important strategic initiative of the Programme Office is the cross-government focus on child poverty and well-being in the annual Budget. In advance of each Budget, the Programme Office engages with all relevant Departments to discuss their spending plans in relation to child poverty and well-being and publishes a report following each Budget. For Budget 2026, the Programme Office continued this process of engagement across Government.

In the context of the recently announced child poverty target, Budget 2026 includes a social welfare package of over €320 million for children who experience poverty, this includes:

• Working Family Payment income thresholds for all family sizes to increase by €60 per week from January 2026.

• Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance extended to eligible children aged 2 and 3.

• €5 increase (15%) in the Fuel Allowance from €33 to €38 per week from January 2026.

• The extension, for the first time, of the Working Family Payment as a qualifying scheme for the Fuel Allowance. This measure will be implemented in March 2026, backdated to January 2026.

• Working Family Payment income thresholds for all family sizes to increase by €60 per week from January 2026.

These increases will benefit about 330,000 children whose parents are in receipt of a social welfare payment.

The full range of new and enhanced measures will be captured in the forthcoming Budget report.