More than 100,000 children are now living in consistent poverty. That number has jumped, astonishingly, by more than 45,000 in just 12 months. These were the alarming figures reported by the Children’s Rights Alliance this morning. This is particularly shocking at a time when the economy is performing well and public finances are very, very strong. It comes at a time when the Government refuses to tackle the soaring cost of living. Prices are out of control, from rents, which we have discussed, to groceries, energy bills and essential toiletries such as shampoo and toothpaste. Working families find it harder to keep up with the basics and children are suffering and being hit the hardest. The Government has to bring forward cost-of-living supports urgently. It has the means to help and it is unacceptable to sit back and do nothing.

Hear, hear.

These figures are serious and of concern but they are from 2023, the year the data was collected. The Government had not yet, at that stage, brought in free school meals for all primary school students or free schoolbooks at second level. I am sure the Deputy would acknowledge these measures have had a significant impact on many families and are making a real difference to children in poverty, but we have to do more. We have had a series of cost-of-living packages but we need something better than cost-of-living packages on an annual basis. Unlike any other government in Europe, we have been in a position to bring in those kinds of cost-of-living packages, but we need a sustained, targeted child poverty initiative, which I am working on with the child poverty unit in my Department to prepare for the forthcoming budget.