465. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection the key measures taken to tackle poverty since January 2025; his priorities for the rest of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53510/26]

Reducing poverty is a priority of this Government, as made clear in our Programme for Government.

During 2025, work continued on implementation of the whole of Government strategy to tackle poverty and improve social inclusion, the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025.  Over its lifetime, poverty rates generally declined, a welcome trend that has continued in the latest poverty data, the Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2025.  73 of the 81 cross-Government commitments in the Roadmap were delivered, while 8 remained in progress.  A final progress report and report card will be published in Q3.

Additionally, during 2025, Government introduced social protection measures under Budget 2025 which targeted those most impacted by poverty.  These included €12 increases to most weekly social welfare payments, and significant increases to the Child Support Payment and Working Family Payment thresholds to support families with children on low income.

In Budget 2026, the Government prioritised targeted supports for those most at risk of poverty.  €28.9 billion is being spent on social protection this year, including over €1.15 billion of new measures targeted to assist households including a €10 increase in core weekly rates, and record increases to the Carer's Allowance weekly income disregard, as well as the income limit for Carer's Benefit.  In addition, €320 million will be spent in specific targeted measures designed to tackle child poverty, including the largest ever increases in the Child Support Payment.

Recognising that poverty is multi-dimensional and must be addressed beyond income supports, these Budget measures complement other measures underway by my Department, as well as colleagues across Government in areas such as housing, health and childcare, which work to reduce poverty.

The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026-2030 was published in May 2026 and is the renewed cross-Government strategy to reduce poverty and improve social inclusion over the next five years.  It was informed by a public consultation process that received almost 500 submissions, and by extensive engagement with Government Departments and community and voluntary organisations.

Building on progress to date, its aim is to reduce consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less by the end of 2030, reduce income inequality, and make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the European Union.  The Roadmap sets out 63 cross-Government actions to help achieve these aims.

These actions again span key areas - income supports, employment, housing, education, health, transport, childcare and public services - and focus on the groups that the data shows are most impacted by poverty, such as families with children on low income, lone parents, people who are unemployed, disabled people, older people and disadvantaged groups such as members of the Traveller and Roma communities.

The Roadmap also fulfills the European Union's call on Member States, in its first Anti-Poverty Strategy published in May, to ensure anti-poverty policy frameworks are in place.

My priority, working with colleagues across Government, is to ensure that the actions in this Roadmap are delivered and translate into real outcomes for households and communities across Ireland.

I will oversee progress through chairing the Social Inclusion Roadmap Steering Group, with senior representation from all relevant Government Departments, as well as the community and voluntary sector.  Progress will be measured against 25 high-level indicators, derived from data published by the Central Statistics Office and Eurostat, and reported on annually in progress reports published on Gov.ie.

Additionally, in my role as Minister for Social Protection, I will strive to ensure that Budget 2027 supports the actions of the Roadmap and prioritises those groups most impacted by poverty in Ireland.