Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 September 2012
253. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has abandoned the original targets to reduce consistent poverty; if new targets have been set; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40579/12]
View answerReducing and ultimately eliminating poverty is a fundamental aspiration of Irish society and the Programme for Government states that the elimination of poverty is an objective of this Government. The national social target for poverty reduction provides a key reference point for government policies and offers a tangible benchmark against which to measure social and economic progress.
Given the challenging economic and fiscal context, the Government initiated a comprehensive review of the national poverty target, first set out in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion in 2007, in order to ensure that it remained appropriate and achievable. I will shortly be publishing the result of the outcome of the review and following that will make arrangements for appropriate consultation with stakeholders to discuss how best to implement its recommendations.
Notwithstanding this, I should point out that in advance of the publication of the review, the revised targets were set out in a document submitted to the European Commission in April 2012 entitled the "National Reform Programme for Ireland 2012 Update under the Europe 2020 Strategy" and are available on the website of the Department of An Taoiseach. In that update, the Government indicated that it had decided to revise and enhance its national poverty target to meet Ireland’s contribution to Europe 2020 and commitments in the Programme for Government. The revised target is to reduce consistent poverty to 4 per cent by 2016 (interim target) and to 2 per cent or less by 2020, from the 2010 baseline rate of 6.2 per cent. Ireland’s revised contribution to the overall EU poverty target is to lift a minimum of 200,000 people out of the risk of poverty or exclusion between 2012 and 2020. I want to stress that the revised targets still mean that the Government has retained the ambition of the original target, despite the difficult economic conditions. The target will now be achieved over an extended timeframe of 2020, in line with the EU timescale. In addition, the Government has agreed a number of other changes which will have a positive impact for poverty reduction, notably the adoption of sub-targets for children and jobless/low-work intensity households and new supporting indicators.
The Government and I, as Minister for Social Protection, are determined to ensure that the least well off in society are protected from the economic crisis and are enabled to benefit from economic recovery and new employment opportunities. I look forward to working with all stakeholders to implement the revised and enhanced national social target for poverty reduction.
