Christmas will be a “miserable time” for thousands of impoverished households with children, many of whom live in cold, mouldy homes with insufficient food and not enough clothes, an Oireachtas committee has heard.
Jen Cummins TD, of the Social Democrats, was one of several members at the joint committee on children who told Minister for Children Norma Foley a country as “rich” as Ireland should not have a child poverty rate higher than “zero”.
Deputy Cummins said she was “so disappointed” when Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced a target of reducing the proportion of children in consistent poverty from 5 per cent to 3 per cent by 2030.
“I don’t think we should be accepting that a target anything above zero is acceptable,” she said. “This is a really hard time of year. I know organisations around the country are getting together with food banks to provide food packages for Christmas. I know there are vouchers being brought ... I know the Vincent de Paul said they would be spending millions supporting families.”
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It is “heartbreaking”, she said, when the State is so rich, and one goes to a house that is cold and mouldy with children who may have just one set of clothes besides their school uniform, she said.
“I have been in homes where there is no food in the cupboards; there’s nothing,” said Ms Cummins.
“Christmas is a miserable time for so many people and I know so many families who have to borrow from people we wouldn’t recommend they borrow from, putting them further into debt and crisis.”
She asked: “How long will it be before that zero is reached?”
Claire Kerrane, a Sinn Féin TD, said it is “our greatest failure as a rich country” that so many children don’t grow up happy.
The Minister for Children did not address the possibility of zero child poverty. The Government’s “aim”, said Ms Foley, was “to give maximum opportunity” to every child.
Addressing child poverty was a cross-departmental objective, and a “singular” child poverty unit has been established with the Taoiseach’s department.
“We can say 286,000 children benefit from the national childcare scheme; more than 105,000 children are gaining free access to the ECCE [Early Childhood Care and Education] programme,” she said, adding 70 per cent of low income households said their children could not have accessed it unless it was free.
Asked about reports that more than 100 young asylum seekers had been placed in Tusla accommodation with children and were subsequently found to be adults, Ms Foley said age assessments were conducted by the Department of Justice.
“Work is under way at the Department of Justice to ensure there is a stronger verification process in terms of the age of the individuals who are being referred to Tusla,” she said.
“Would that be biometrics?” asked Senator Sharon Keoghan.
Ms Foley said she would not speak on behalf of the Justice Department, but she was aware that “stronger mechanisms” for confirming age was “under way” in that department.
