Pat Upton
Ceist:180 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Social Welfare the initiatives, if any, which have been taken by his Department to mark the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. [3109/96]
Written Answers. - Eradication of Poverty.
In December 1995, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution on the observance of the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty 1996 and proclaimed the first UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty.
The international community, through the auspices of the UN, has already reached a consensus on and committed itself to the eradication of poverty. In terms of the iniatives at the level of member states, the emphasis of the resolution is on the implementation of the programmes of action arising out of the recent UN conferences, most notably at the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen last year.
In the aftermath of the Copenhagen Summit, I obtained Government approval for the development of a National Anti-Poverty Strategy. The strategy is being developed by a high level inter-departmental policy committee. The Government decision on the setting up of a National Anti-Poverty Strategy provided for a number of stages, including the preparation of an overview statement setting out in broad terms the nature and extent of poverty, social exclusion and inequality in Ireland; recommending what type of institutional mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that the issue of reducing poverty, social exclusion and inequality is firmly on the agenda of all Government Departments and agencies, and that there is appropriate co-ordination across and between Departments on policy in this area; and specifically including the people directly affected by poverty in these processes of policy formulation and implementation through a wide-ranging consultative and participative exercise.
A wide-ranging consultation process has taken place and 241 submissions were received which helped inform the preparation of three discussion papers. These papers formed the basis for discussions at a series of seminars around the country last month. The committee is now moving on to a further key stage of the process which involves selecting key themes which must be addressed if poverty is to be tackled in a "root and branch" way, and setting specific targets for poverty alleviation in the key areas to be identified.
The inter-departmental committee has been charged with preparing a report which will form part of the National Report for the United Nations, to be completed before the end of 1996 to demonstrate national progress in implementing the UN Commitment and I am confident that the wide-ranging activities being undertaken by the committee and the overall strategy which is being pursued represent the most effective and meaningful response during this United Nations Year for the Eradication of Poverty.