Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 December 2016
60. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the measures being taken by her Department regarding socially and economically disadvantaged young adults; her views on the levels of poverty and homelessness among young adults; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40121/16]
View answerMy Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 380,000.
The National Youth Strategy 2015-2020, published last October, sets out Government’s aims for young people, aged 10 to 24 years. The Strategy identifies some fifty priority actions to be delivered by Government departments, state agencies and by others, including the voluntary youth services over 2015 to 2017.
To achieve this aim, a number of objectives have been set in relation to each of the five national outcome areas. One of these is that “Young people are a particular focus in policies that address social inclusion and poverty”.
The Government set a child-specific poverty target in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures to reduce consistent child poverty by at least two-thirds by 2020. I chair the Policy Consortium that leads the work of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures to drive key actions, including those on child poverty. The Department of Social Protection has the lead role in coordinating government strategies on child poverty, and is the Sponsor Department for outcome four in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: that all children and young people should be enjoying economic security and opportunity. It also has lead responsibility for the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion and has identified child poverty as a key cross-sectoral priority to be addressed under Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures. To progress this priority, I am advised by my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection that his Department are working on developing an implementation plan for reaching the child poverty target in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures. This should be finalised in time to go to the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures Consortium for approval in February 2017.
This plan was informed by officials from a number of departments, as well as from members of the Advisory Council for Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, which brings together key community and voluntary sector organisations, as well as independent experts with experience working with and for children and young people.
I am also advised by my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, that the national social target for poverty reduction, which sets out the Government’s ambition for reducing and ultimately eliminating poverty, is to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or less by 2020, from the baseline rate of 6.3% in 2010. Since 1997 Ireland has developed national anti-poverty strategies to provide a strategic framework in which to tackle poverty and social exclusion. The National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016 was recently updated and extended to 2017.
