Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 October 2022
124. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the instruments being used by her Department to identify and address intergenerational poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50432/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department's Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) 2018 – 2023 provides funding to tackle poverty and social exclusion at a local level through local engagement and partnerships between disadvantaged individuals, community organisations and public sector agencies. The programme is implemented nationally by 46 Local Development Companies.
The aim of SICAP is to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality in Ireland through supporting communities and individuals using community development approaches, engagement, and collaboration. It supports communities and individuals to engage in issues affecting their lives and in the provision of support for lifelong learning and labour market opportunities.
SICAP has an explicit anti-poverty focus and works with 13 pre-defined target groups who are disadvantaged and marginalised and unable or unlikely to access mainstream supports. Among these target groups are Disadvantaged Children and Families, Disadvantaged Young People (aged 15-24), Lone Parents, Low-Income Workers/Households, the Unemployed, Travellers, Roma and People with Disabilities.
Local Community Development Committees and Local Development Companies work together to identify the needs for their area.
The issue of poverty, whether in urban or rural areas, is one which is entwined in a number of policy initiatives and actions delivered across a number of Government Departments. The Deputy will be aware that the Department of Social Protection leads on the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 -2025. The Roadmap delivers an Integrated Framework for Social Inclusion, to tackle inequality and poverty and aims to reduce the number of people in consistent poverty in Ireland to 2% or less and to position Ireland within the top five countries in the EU under a number of leading social inclusion measures. My Department established a Food Poverty Working Group to co-ordinate the collective effort of all Departments and tackle the issue of food poverty in accordance with the commitments in the Roadmap. We will continue to deliver on the commitments and assist with this important work into the future.
Recent Budgets have consistently targeted supports on reducing the number of children in poverty and deprivation and I will continue to prioritise funding for SICAP within my Department’s overall voted expenditure.
