Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 3 December 2021
16. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures announced as part of budget 2022 to prevent and alleviate poverty during childhood; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59459/21]
View answer17. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his plans for tackling child poverty; if he plans to support the establishment either of a special Oireachtas committee on the subject or a cross-departmental child poverty unit within the Government. [59435/21]
View answer24. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures being put in place to combat child poverty. [58935/21]
View answerWe are running out of time, so I apologise to Deputy Bacik, who has been waiting. She will have time to put her question and get a response, although it will be limited.
Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Will the Minister outline his plans and those of his Department to deal with the persistent issue of child poverty in Ireland? In particular, does he intend to establish a special Oireachtas committee on the subject or a cross-departmental child poverty unit? At the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Innovation and Youth, we have been engaging in meetings on child poverty and I have engaged with the Ombudsman for Children, the Children’s Rights Alliance and others. I am conscious the ombudsman has published a report, A Better Normal, seeking to ensure we will have twin goals of eradicating child poverty and eliminating homelessness for children, which are crucial aims.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 16, 17 and 24 together.
I too had a good meeting with the ombudsman about that report and we discussed his ideas in detail. The Department of Social Protection leads on the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020–2025, which is aimed at reducing poverty and improving social inclusion. Under the roadmap, a new child poverty target is being agreed. Addressing child poverty was identified as a priority action under Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures and will remain a priority in the successor framework being developed by my Department.
Significant advancements can be made through my Department’s co-ordination of the EU child guarantee, an important initiative that aims to combat social exclusion by guaranteeing access for children who are in need of a range of key services. I will publish our national action plan for the child guarantee by March next year. The commitments under the guarantee go to the heart of the child poverty agenda, given they deal with free access to early childhood education and care, education, healthcare for children in need, healthy nutrition including a healthy meal each school day and adequate housing.
Tackling child poverty and effectively implementing the child guarantee will require the commitment and active participation of my colleagues across government to ensure it is collaborative, integrated and, ultimately, impactful. As part of the child guarantee process and in developing the successor national policy framework to Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, I will engage with my Cabinet colleagues to consider the most appropriate and effective structures to pursue the reforms necessary to improve outcomes for our most disadvantaged children.
As for child poverty-focused structures, I have an open mind on the question of an Oireachtas committee or other form of co-ordination mechanism. My Department recently established a new EU and international unit, which, among other responsibilities, will lead on the co-ordination across government of the necessary actions emerging from the EU child guarantee. This will enable us to pursue a coherent agenda in regard to child poverty.
I welcome the announcement of that special unit and the process under way on the EU child guarantee, which is so important. I welcomed also the announcement today by the Minister for Justice on the regularisation of undocumented scheme. I have been working with the Migrant Rights Centre, the Immigrant Council, Labour Youth and other organisations for some time and have constructively engaged with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on that. I am conscious that will really help and support many children who currently live in very precarious positions and in poverty.
Will the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, consider a more targeted focus on tackling child poverty? I am conscious that in Britain, there was a model in the early years of the New Labour Government whereby a child poverty unit was established in Whitehall to target funding and resources with those twin aims of eradicating child poverty and child homelessness.
We know investment in early years and early childhood care and education is also crucial, and is, in fact, the key measure necessary to tackle child poverty. We have heard that from the experts who have appeared before us in the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We are very anxious to see a public and universal access childcare and early years education scheme being rolled out by the Government. We will work with the Minister on that. We have been pushing for an equal early years campaign on that. We would welcome any further and urgent steps being taken in that regard.
I see the successor strategy to Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures as being hugely important. There is always the decision of whether to go narrow and centralise the decision-making process or make it broad and ensure all parts of government are acting towards it. That is that balancing element. Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, the policy framework that is ending now, has been really successful, but I have been clear that in a successor I want child poverty eradication to be central and to play an even greater role. I want to ensure that that is reflected across all Departments.
The EU child guarantee is going to be located within that, but while the guarantee is perhaps a response to the most acute levels of poverty, we have to understand that the levels of disadvantage are perhaps broader than those addressed by it. That is where the successor national policy framework will be really beneficial. We can continue to engage on the issue as we go forward.
