Cabinet Committees
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-10
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 41, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on children and education oversees the implementation of programme for Government commitments in the area of children and education. It receives detailed reports on identified policy areas such as child poverty and well-being, and education. The membership of the Cabinet committee on children and education comprises the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Health and others. I will not go through the full list; there are quite a number of Ministers on it.
The programme for Government contains many important commitments intended to improve the lives of all children and especially those children who need our help most. These commitments include setting an ambitious child poverty target; progressively increasing the child-support payment; expanding eligibility for the fuel allowance to families in receipt of the working family payment; and exploring a targeted child benefit payment. The Cabinet committee meets quarterly and met for the third time in December. It will next meet in the first part of 2026.
The Government’s vision for education is to deliver a world-class education system which breaks down barriers and ensures every child can achieve their full potential. That is why we remain committed to building on the work of the DEIS programme, which, since 2006, has been operating to tackle educational disadvantage.
Budget 2026 moved towards permanent targeted payments to support the most vulnerable. A €320 million social welfare package for children includes the largest increase ever in the child support payment, increased income thresholds for the working family payment and the extension of fuel allowance to those on the working family payment.
Increases in prices and wages have widened the gap between people reliant on social welfare and the average income in society. In recent years, as a result, the Government has invested to protect low-income families with children. Since 2020, the weekly child support payment has increased by 95% for children aged 12 and over and by 61% for children under 12. This exceeds the growth in average wages of 28% and exceeds the rate of increase of many other permanent social welfare payments.
Other new or enhanced allocations in budget 2026 to address child poverty through the provision of services include an additional €5.14 million for Equal Start, which is a 30% increase on last year; an additional €16.5 million - a €48 million full-year cost - to the Department of education to implement a new DEIS strategy and the new DEIS plus scheme; a 22% increase of €7.3 million for youth justice supports; €3.2 million of funding to expand and strengthen the national network of family resource centres, with the addition of ten new centres bringing the national total to 136; and an expansion of the income thresholds for the national childcare scheme.
Given the growing demand for many children's services, "Breaking the Cycle: New Measures in Budget 2026 to Address Child Poverty and Promote Well-being", our third report on child poverty spending in the annual budget, highlights new and additional spending in that area. Analysis from the ESRI shows that the permanent measures taken in budget 2026 are progressive and prioritise protecting the incomes of the poorest families.
On disabilities and children, we have established a dedicated Cabinet committee on disability. The work of this committee is progressing important initiatives to respond to the needs and well-being of children. There was a record allocation of €3 billion for special education provision in 2026, including funding for 1,700 additional SNAs and 860 additional teachers for special education. We are also establishing the new education therapy service as an additional support for children with special educational needs. It is intended to commence in special schools, with roll-out over time to special classes and mainstream schools. Recruitment is advancing and it is anticipated that the service will commence in 45 special schools at a later stage in the 2025-26 school year. Significant investments in disability services are also being delivered, particularly in the children's disability network teams, CDNTs. I will leave it at that because I am conscious that a number of Deputies want to get back in.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-10