Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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87. 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. [62281/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Reducing child poverty is a key priority for Government.

In line with commitments in the Programme for Government, a new Child Poverty Target was agreed by Government in September, which is to reduce the child consistent poverty rate to 3% or less by 2030. This is an ambitious goal, representing a reduction of of 5.5 percentage points, or nearly 60%, from the current rate of 8.5%.

It is important to note that as a developed economy poverty in Ireland is measured on a relative rather than an absolute basis. In other words poverty is assessed by comparing a person's income to the average income in society. As a relatively high income country this means that many people assessed as experiencing poverty in Ireland would not be considered to poor in many other EU countries.

Nevertheless if we are committed to social cohesion it is important to retain this approach. Moreover the consistent poverty measure that we use is unique to Ireland and captures those children in families that are at both at risk of relative poverty and those who self-report material deprivation.

In using this measure and setting a target based on this measure, the Government is clear that no child should be left behind and that no level of child poverty, whether it is measured in relative or absolute terms, is acceptable.

This target will guide cross-departmental policies over the lifetime of this Government and ensure resources are targeted at families most in need.

In addition, the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office in the Department of the Taoiseach is developing a Dashboard of Indicators, that will complement the Target and allow us to track child poverty in a more holistic manner.

Tackling child poverty requires sustained investment and cross-Government commitment over many years.

The social welfare package in Budget 2026 reflects this commitment, allocating €320 million specifically to address child poverty in my Department. Key targeted measures include the largest increases to Child Support Payments in the State’s history, higher thresholds for the Working Family Payment, with expanded eligibility for Fuel Allowance and the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. These are in addition to other measures already in train including the rollout of free school meals, free school books, the free GP visit card and enhancement to the Early Childhood Care and Education schemes.

Given the multi-dimensional nature of child poverty, a whole-of-Government approach is essential. Alongside income supports, we are advancing actions in housing, employment, childcare, and public services. The successor to the current Roadmap for Social Inclusion will be published in the first half of 2026, and will for the first time contain a dedicated focus on child poverty with the aim of achieving our ambitious target by the end of the decade.