Naoise Ó Muirí
Question:61. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress being made in reaching our 2030 goals in tackling child poverty. [2628/26]
View answerThursday, 15 January 2026
Questions (61)
Written answers
Reducing child poverty is a key priority for this Government, as set out in the Programme for Government.
In September 2025, the Government agreed a new Child Poverty Target: to reduce the consistent child poverty rate to 3% or less by the end of 2030.
While no level of child poverty is acceptable, this is an ambitious goal, representing a reduction of 5.5 percentage points - nearly 60% - from the current rate of 8.5%. %.
Tackling child poverty requires sustained and cross-Government investment and commitment over many years. The Target will guide this work and ensure resources are targeted at families with children who are most in need.
In addition, the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office in the Department of the Taoiseach is collating a Dashboard of Indicators, which will complement this target and allow for a more holistic measurement of child poverty.
Recent CSO data show a welcome reduction in child enforced deprivation rates in 2025, reflecting the impact of Government measures to date.
Budget 2026 social welfare package reflects this determination, with a specific allocation of €320 million to tackle child poverty. Targeted measures include the largest increases in Child Support Payments in the State’s history; higher income thresholds for the Working Family Payment; and expanded eligibility for the Fuel Allowance and the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.
These measures build on other important initiatives already underway that also work to reduce child poverty, such as free school meals, free schoolbooks, free GP visit cards, and the National Childcare Scheme, and the Early Childhood Care and Education scheme which all will contribute towards achieving the new child poverty target.
The successor to the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, the national poverty strategy, to be published in the first half of 2026, will include a dedicated focus on child poverty and cross-Government actions to support the delivery of our ambitious target by 2030.