Child Poverty
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-21
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Mark Ward (SF), Dublin Mid-West

The latest figures on child poverty are showing exactly what we feared. Over a quarter of children aged under 16 are growing up in poverty. The Government has received warning after warning and it did not listen. I want to talk about the Clondalkin Equine Centre in my own area. It is a wonderful place. It is in an area of high deprivation as the Pobal index will tell us. It is like an oasis of calm in a really disadvantaged area. Last Thursday, we had a wonderful visit from President Catherine Connolly to the equine centre. It was fantastic. The kids were absolutely brilliant in showing the President around the area. The equine centre does not receive any core funding. It has 20 stables and it is not able to be self-sufficient. It is in danger of closing. What supports are in place for a centre like this in an area of high deprivation that has high levels of child poverty?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-21