Budget 'should tackle child poverty rather than woo voters'
A report was published two weeks ago showing that Irish children aged up to 15 are more likely than their European counterparts to be at risk of poverty before social transfers kick in.
The Government should forgo budget measures aimed at wooing voters in favour of long-term investments in child poverty, the junior social protection minister has said.
Joe O'Brien said the Government must make the "hard decisions" in October's budget.
The Green Party TD for Dublin Fingal told the that he was "going to push" for investments in the budget around measures to help alleviate child poverty instead of seeking votes.
"It's getting clearer and clearer how we can reduce the poverty rates. Obviously, we need resources to be able to do it. And we're in the lucky situation at the moment where we have substantial resources, and we have the information.
"And I'm not for a minute saying that it's an easy decision either because [I was] at an event today where there was a couple of dozen different NGOs with different priorities. And they all make good cases. But ultimately, I think we need to make the hard decisions in government," he said.
"It's a balance, but I'm certainly going to push on the investment that will have a better longer-term impact for the whole of society, and not just a particular section, and that's why I think child poverty is particularly important to prevent and try to eliminate."
Mr O'Brien said he could not detail the specific amount of the €8.3bn budget pot which he would like to be given, but said he and his senior minister Heather Humphreys would work to get "as much as possible".
With a report published two weeks ago showing that Irish children aged up to 15 are more likely than their European counterparts to be at risk of poverty before social transfers kick in, Mr O'Brien said he plans to write to ministerial colleagues to see what measures could be taken to alleviate cost-of-living pressures.
He said another key strand in lowering the reliance on social transfers was access to work.
"This term full employment kind of jars with me a little bit because...we work with people who want to work but still can't access it and they're facing barriers for different reasons. So I think we need to do more in terms of making the job market more accessible."
Mr O'Brien had been tipped as a potential candidate for the leadership of the Green Party but opted not to run and says he is "focusing on his constituency" and ministerial work. "I've got remits across three government departments. So I think I have enough on my plate."
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