Ireland - On September 11, 2025, Taoiseach Micheál Martin will host the Child Poverty and Well-being Summit in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin 4. This event is an initiative of the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office in the Department of the Taoiseach.
The objective of the Summit is to bring together leaders, policymakers, practitioners, and change-makers from across sectors to explore how we can drive systemic change that delivers results for children. The Summit will support Government to deliver the commitment in the Programme for Government to ‘lift more children out of poverty, giving them the futures they deserve’.
The opening address will be provided by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, followed by a keynote
address from Dr Mike Ryan, Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organisation.The Summit will also include a Ministerial panel discussion, moderated by Sinéad Burke, and featuring Minister Jack Chambers, Minister Helen McEntee, Minister Norma Foley and Minister Dara Calleary. Questions will be asked by a Youth Advisory Group, which came together in advance of the Summit to discuss issues that matter to them, their peers and younger children.
To showcase the creativity of young people, the Summit will also feature a multi-media art exhibition of work made by children at Local Creative Youth Partnerships in different parts of Ireland. The afternoon session will include a musical performance by Jimmy Maguire, a young pianist from Music Generation Louth.
The Summit will have a number of short talks to ‘shift the lens’ – that is, to challenge the audience, and invite them to think differently about child poverty. These talks will be given by One Family, Local Creative Youth Partnerships, Little Fitness and Involve Youth Project Meath.
Future-focused roundtable workshops will be chaired by Koulla Yiasouma, newly appointed chair of the Advisory Council of Young Ireland, the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People.
A key objective of the Programme Office is to accelerate and energise cross-government and cross-sectoral work on child poverty and well-being. To this end, a concluding panel session at the Summit, moderated by Joe Duffy, will explore the work of five Action Learning Set groups.
Opening the Summit, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said:
“I am delighted to host the second-ever Child Poverty and Well-being Summit. We will come together to take stock of progress, strengthen our resolve and inform decisions and action.
“The theme for the event this year is Anois an tAm - the time is now. Rising costs have meant that after years of progress, families and children are under pressure. Families on the lowest incomes face real challenges. That is why our response will target resources to where they are needed most.
“Ending child poverty is not just the right thing to do, but is essential if we are going to prepare for the future and build the society that we all want to live in.”
Highlighting the Government’s new Child Poverty Target, the Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary said:
“Reducing child poverty and ensuring every child has the best start in life are key priorities for this Government. This week we published a new, ambitious Child Poverty Target of 3% or less until the end of 2030. As Minister for Social Protection, I will ensure that we provide supports for the most vulnerable children in our society.”
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley stressed the importance of giving every child the best start in life through early learning, childcare, and inclusion:
“Tackling the cost of early learning and childcare for parents is a very important part of the wider agenda to reduce child poverty. I have expanded the Equal Start programme, which supports children at risk of disadvantage in early learning settings, with the provision of healthy and nutritious Bia Blasta lunches. Improving access to early learning opportunities for children with additional needs is also a key priority for me. I am determined to achieve this with the expansion of the Access and Inclusion Model. I am, as always, committed to working with my colleagues across government to find ambitious new ways of reducing child poverty.”
Addressing the role of education in breaking cycles of disadvantage, Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee said:
“As Minister, my aim is to deliver a world-class education system which breaks down barriers and ensures every child and young person can achieve their full potential. The Education Plan 2025 highlights my commitment to publish a new DEIS plan this year, which will include the development of a DEIS Plus scheme, to tackle educational disadvantage and take steps to address absenteeism.
“The Plan also outlines key actions to improve wellbeing in schools, including steps to tackle the use of phones in schools, as well as the roll-out of the new Neart suite of mental health and wellbeing resources.
“I will continue to work with school communities to reduce the costs they face, for the benefit of all our pupils and students.”
No comments:
Post a Comment