Finian McGrath
Question:43 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her views on the fact that at least 8% of children are living in poverty; and the strategies the Government has to improve their quality of life. [15487/02]
Written Answers. - Anti-Poverty Strategy.
Child poverty was identified as a central issue for consideration in the review of the national anti-poverty strategy, NAPS. Children have been identified as one of a number of groups that are vulnerable to poverty. As a result, one of the objectives of the revised NAPS, Building an Inclusive Society, in line with the national children's strategy, is to eliminate child poverty and to move to greater equality for all children in terms of access to appropriate education, health and housing, thus breaking the cycle of disadvantage and exclusion experienced by certain children in society.
In addition, the revised NAPS contains a commitment to set the equivalence rate for basic child income support at 33% to 35% of the minimum adult social welfare payment rate. This commitment is allied to one which aims to achieve, by 2007, a rate of €150 per week – in 2002 terms – for the lowest rates of social welfare payments.
Other targets relevant to children in the revised NAPS include halving the proportion of pupils with serious literacy difficulties by 2006; reducing the number of young people who leave the school system early, so that the percentage of those who complete upper second level or equivalent will reach 85% by 2003 and 90% by 2006; reducing the gap in low birth weight rates between children from the lowest and highest socio-economic groups by 10% from the current level by 2007.
The most recent data supplied by the Economic and Social Research Institute suggest that we are continuing to make significant inroads on the level of child poverty in Ireland. Consistent poverty for children fell from 16.9% in 1997 to 12% in 1998 and further to 8% in 2000, underlining the positive effects that falling unemployment has on households with children.
Child benefit offers a most effective means of channelling income support to low-income families in order to tackle child poverty. Payments now amount to €117.60 for the first and second children and €147.30 for third and subsequent children – a trebling of payments since 1997. The investment of the past two years has yet to be reflected in the child poverty rates as the latest poverty figures relate to the year 2000.
Finally, the national children's strategy contains an ambitious series of policy objectives in relation to children for the next decade and provides us with a framework through which we can significantly improve the lives of all our children.
Question No. 44 answered with Question No. 14.