Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands will meet tomorrow to discuss the Roadmap for Social Inclusion

On Tuesday, at 6.30pm live on Oireachtas TV, Minister of State for the Department of Rural and Community Development, Joe O’Brien T.D, will appear for the meeting in Committee Room 2, along with the following officials from the Department of Rural and Community Development, and the Department of Social Protection

• Geraldine Hurley, Assistant Secretary, Department of Social Protection
• Dermot Coates, Chief Economist, Department of Social Protection
• Bairbre Nic Aonghusa, Assistant Secretary, Department of Rural and Community Development

Speaking in advance of the meeting, Committee Chairperson, Denis Naughten TD, said: “Since 1997 as a country we have put in place successive national strategies focusing on the reduction of poverty and social exclusion in society. The current Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 has three main purposes, to set out a level of ambition for what the Government wishes to achieve, identify specific commitments and set a framework for monitoring and reporting progress.

“It is clear to the committee that ggovernment Policy can make a positive difference in people’s lives and broader society. However, any plan needs to be flexible and clearly Covid-19 and its impact which has been felt for over a year now has affected people who are experiencing poverty, and many vulnerable groups. Given the challenges the country faces, there is a real need for collaborative work between Departments in order to drive the delivery of these commitments.

Chair Naughten concluded: “The Roadmap has a stated ambition to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU, with that in mind we look forward to hearing from the Minister, and the relevant officials as to how likely we are to match that ambition.”

For more information about the work of the Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands seethe Committee webpage