Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 June 2025
335. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection the way in which feedback and recommendations from the Social Inclusion Forum are integrated into the development and implementation of national anti-poverty policy; his views on the Forum’s role in informing future iterations of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33358/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Inclusion Forum was established by Government in 2002, as part of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy institutional structures, and has continued to be part of the monitoring and evaluation structure of successive strategies, including the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025. The aim of the Forum is to give people who are directly affected by poverty and social exclusion, and those who work with them, a voice in the development of the policies that affect them and in the way that these policies are implemented.
The Social Inclusion Forum plays a crucial role in shaping both policy direction and practice, in line with commitments under the Roadmap and obligations under EU and international frameworks.
Each year, feedback and recommendations from Forum participants are formally captured and reviewed by the Department of Social Protection. These insights are used to inform the implementation of the Roadmap, as well as the development of future anti-poverty strategies.
The theme of the 2025 Social Inclusion Forum was "Reflecting on the Past and Informing the Future of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion." The Forum included five workshops on key topics (1. Building inclusive communities, 2. Families and children, 3. People with disabilities, 4. Older people and 5. Travellers and Roma) with facilitators from the community and voluntary sector, and presentations from expert practitioners.
Importantly, the Social Inclusion Forum also informs the budgetary process. Priorities identified - such as income adequacy, access to employment and education, disability supports, housing needs, and cost-of-living pressures - are taken into account during the Department’s internal budgetary planning, and are reflected in the proposals brought forward for annual Budget negotiations.
Several measures introduced in recent Budgets - such as increases to core social welfare payments, targeted cost-of-living supports, enhanced employment programmes for people with disabilities, and funding for community services - have been influenced by the real-world concerns raised through the Forum.
Additionally, the Department considers feedback from the Forum to assess policy effectiveness and set priorities for the remaining period of the Roadmap. As work begins on the successor to the Roadmap, the Department remains fully committed to ensuring that the Social Inclusion Forum continues to play a formative and sustained role, not only in policy design but also in shaping the budgetary decisions that underpin our national approach to reducing poverty and social exclusion. Discussions at this year's Forum will feed into the development of the successor to the Roadmap.
It is intended that the Department of Social Protection will publish the successor to the Roadmap for Social Inclusion in the first half of 2026.
