Child Poverty
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-24
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

I can assure the Deputy that we are not just talking. I reiterate the changes in last year's budget in the context of the child support payment, which included a record increase, particularly for over-12s, the full expansion of the hot schools meals programme and the expansion of the fuel allowance to working family payment recipients, with 50,000 extra families entitled to the fuel allowance. They will all make a difference on those figures. Yes, the ESRI is respected. I listen to it and I value its opinion but when I look at the figures from the Central Statistics Offices, CSO, which has access to live figures and detailed information, they are showing us going in the right direction in terms of a reduction from 8.5% to 7.8%, and from 21.2% in 2024 with regard to children in forced deprivation to 19.6%. All of that is happening in the context of a growing population. Is it fast enough? Absolutely not. That is why we continue to direct resources and time and inject energy into this. The consultation in relation to the second-tier payment has given us a lot of food for thought, with over 220 submissions that will be seriously considered. I will engage with the joint committee on these and we will bring clarity to this a lot quicker than the timeline I just outlined.

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Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-24