29 Mr. Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny) asked the Minister for Health and Children the role his Department has in implementing the national anti-poverty strategy. [25541/01]

Although health or health targets were not included in the original national anti-poverty strategy – NAPS – published in 1997, my Department has been involved in setting and reviewing annual workplans for NAPS. More recently, as part of its commitment to tackling social exclusion, the Government gave a commitment in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness to review the NAPS across all relevant Departments and to develop NAPS targets in the health area with an associated monitoring and implementation framework. The Department established a working group on NAPS and health which included the social partners and the Combat Poverty Agency and sought the assistance of the Institute of Public Health with research and consultation aspects of the exercise.