Addressing child poverty is Government’s ‘north star’, says TaoiseachMicheál Martin has said the Government has set itself clear targets to reduce child poverty out to 2030 Thu, 03 Sep, 2026 – 19:13Tadgh McNally
The Government held its third Child Poverty and Wellbeing Summit in Dublin on Thursday, with the Taoiseach saying addressing child poverty is the Government’s “north star”.
Micheál Martin has said the Government has set itself clear targets to reduce child poverty out to 2030, but what exactly is the Government doing to deal with the matter?
What is the Government’s target for child poverty and what progress has it made?
Announced last year, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and social protection Minister Dara Calleary said they wanted to cut the rate of child poverty to 3% or below by 2030.
According to the most recent Children’s Rights Alliance Child Poverty Monitor, 7.8% of children in 2025 had experienced consistent childhood poverty.
This is a reduction from 8.5% in 2024.
The raw data outlines that there were 95,170 children living in consistent poverty in 2025, while 206,202 were at risk of falling below the poverty line.
What measures have previously been taken?
In Budget 2026, public expenditure Minister Jack Chambers announced there would be €300m allocated to a package of supports for children and families.
This included increases to the weekly rate of Child Support Payment of €8 for under 12s and €16 for over 12s, bringing the total payment to €58 and €78 respectively.
The budget also increased the Working Family Payment income thresholds by €60 per week, while also granting recipients of that payment access to the fuel allowance.
What measures is it considering for the upcoming budget?
While no concrete measures have been announced yet, both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have signalled that some move will be made to reduce the cost of childcare.
Speaking on Thursday, Mr Harris said the Government would be prioritising childcare on October 6.
“Our ambition is clear: To make childcare more affordable, more accessible and more inclusive for families throughout the country, including progressively reducing average childcare costs to €200 per month per child.
Making childcare more affordable, accessible and sustainable will remain a priority and will be an important focus of our upcoming budgetary strategy.
“Because investment in early learning and childcare is not simply about reducing a bill for parents, important though that is. It is an investment in children.”
Commitments to reduce the cost of childcare have been in place since the previous coalition, with the most recent programme for Government committing to a €200 per month fee cap.
There will likely be a clamour for the Government to make some progress towards introducing a second, targeted tier of child benefit.
A recent consultation process, launched by the Government in April, suggested that such a payment could replace existing supports like the Working Family Payment and Child Support Payment.
The consultation proposes two ways to qualify for the payment, including if a family with children is already in receipt of a social welfare payment which is means-tested.
The second method would see the income of a family assessed against an income threshold, which would be based on the number of children they have.
Families below that threshold would be entitled to the second tier of child benefit.
What have charities called on the Government to do?
Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, has called on the Government to introduce targeted income supports by raising the Child Support Payment by €10 for children under 12 and €18 for those over 12.
The Children’s Rights Alliance said there should be an increase to the National Childcare Scheme thresholds to permit all families living below the poverty line to access maximum subsidies.
Ms Ward also called for €20m to be provided to deliver the Government’s upcoming Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan, which is due to be published in the coming weeks.
“For the Government to have any real chance of reducing child poverty, we need to be seeing and hearing every Minister, across departments, fighting for measures designed to disrupt the perpetual cycle of poverty,” Ms Ward said.
“Increases to the money in the pockets of families most in need, along with investment towards the services they rely on for support, need to be top of each priority list.”
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