Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2020
891. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps she is taking to address food poverty in children and to ensure that no child goes hungry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32989/20]
View answerTackling child poverty is a key priority for the Government. In Budget 2021 and in recent years, Governments have provided for a number of measures specifically targeted at alleviating child poverty and assisting low income families, particularly lone parents, including;
- An increase of €5 per week in the weekly rate for children aged 12 and over to €45 per week and a €2 per week increase for children under 12 to €38 per week in Budget 2021. (Increases in qualified child payments were also introduced in Budget 2018, 2019, 2020 while Budget 2019 also introduced a higher qualified child rate for children aged 12 and over).
- Increases in the weekly income disregards for the One Parent Family and Jobseeker Transition payments – from €90 in Budget 2016 to €165 in Budget 2020 and the removal of the earnings limit of €425 for One-Parent Family Payment in Budget 2021.
- Increase in the Working Family Payment earnings thresholds by €10 per week for families with up to three children in Budget 2020 and Budget 2021.
Child Poverty cannot, however, be alleviated by income supports alone. A whole of Government approach is needed which ensures access to a range of services and supports for children and their families. Across Government, we must strive to ensure that these households do not get left further behind as a result of the pandemic.
Following the closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March, schools and organisations participating in the school meals programme expressed concerns about the impact of school closures on pupils who avail of school meals, and that the unavailability of school meals impacts in particular on the most disadvantaged.
My Department confirmed that funding to schools would continue to enable schools provide food until the end of the school year in line with the parameters of the school meals scheme. This resulted in food parcels being delivered to or collected by families. Funding was extended to cover the summer months to ensure that children could continue to receive food.
As part of Budget 2021 and following the success of the hot school meals pilot, I have announced the provision of hot school meals to an additional 35,000 primary school children from January 2021.
My Department also administers the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), which provides food and basic consumer products to people most at risk. In 2019, my Department spent €5.3m on the FEAD programme through the ongoing distribution of food and the distribution of material assistance. Though a network of 150 charitable partnership organisations, the Department distributed over 1,323 tonnes of food to just over 195,000 people in communities throughout the country, either in the form of food parcels or as meals prepared by a charitable organisation. To date in 2020, €4.8m has been spent on the FEAD programme.
Difficulty in meeting food and other regular ongoing needs may result from a family encountering exceptional once-off expenditures. In this regard, under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. Any persons who consider that they have an entitlement to an exceptional needs payment should contact my Department’s Community Welfare Service at their local office.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the deputy.
