Review of National Poverty Targets

The Government is undertaking the review to enable it to adopt appropriate and achievable national poverty targets to meet Ireland’s contribution to Europe 2020 and the commitments in the programme for government (Government for National Recovery 2011-2016). As part of the review, the Social Inclusion Division of the Department of Social Protection is consulting with key stakeholders, including the technical advisory group on poverty data and indicators under the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion, the social partners and people experiencing poverty.

Local workshops with people experiencing poverty

A crucial strand of the consultation is with people experiencing poverty and for this purpose the Social Inclusion Division is organising four consultation workshops in local communities across the country: These are the Dublin/east region; Cork/south region; Galway/west region and Donegal/north region. The workshops are targeted at community representatives and local people affected by poverty. We intend to partner with a local organisation who would host the workshop with our assistance. The format for the workshops will include two inputs, one from the Social Inclusion Division on the background to the review of the national poverty target, and the other from a representative from a community organisation on what they see as the key issues in the review. This will be followed by a small group discussion based on defined questions. The event will conclude with feedback on the groups and an open discussion.

The workshops will begin at 10:00 and finish at 12:45. Tea/coffee will be available from 09:45. A light lunch will be available after the workshop.

Details on the fourth workshop will be available shortly. There are a limited number of places available. Please email social.inclusion@welfare.ie or contact us at 01-7043245 to book your place.

Online Survey

We want the views of individuals and organisations who wish to contribute to the review and have developed a survey to this end. The aim of this survey to ascertain the views of respondents on the current poverty target and how this target can be strengthened in the future. In order to fully brief people on the review, the survey will be accompanied by a Consultation Paper which will provide more detail on:

•  The review itself
•  The poverty is defined and measured
•  The policy context for the review
•  Progress towards the national poverty target

We recommend that people read the consultation paper in order to familiarise themselves with the background and some of the technical aspects of the review before completing the survey.

The survey will go live on 25 August and remain open until 21 October 2011.

Have your Say here

Technical Advisory Group consultation workshop

The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) was established under the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016 to provide support and advice in relation to data and poverty measurement issues. It is composed of specialists in research, data collection and poverty measurement representing Government departments, agencies, social partners and research organisations.

A consultation workshop with members of the TAG is scheduled to take place on Monday, 12^th September, 2011 at 9am. The experts will hear inputs from the Social Inclusion Division, the Economic and Social Research Institute, and the School of Sociology in University College Dublin on the following:

•  Progress to-date on the national poverty target;
•  Review of poverty indicators for setting the national poverty target;
•  The Irish national poverty target in an EU context; and
•  Finalising the review of the national poverty target.

Deliberations at the workshop will inform the review of the national poverty target.

The review of the national poverty target will also be informed by a technical working paper on poverty indicators, prepared by the ESRI.

Social Inclusion Forum

The Social Inclusion Forum is an annual event which represents a key element of the government’s commitments to consult with all relevant stakeholders in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007 – 2016. It provides an opportunity for individuals and organisations to input their views on key policies and implementation issues.

The 9^th Annual Social Inclusion Forum will take place on November 9^th in the F2 Centre, Fatima, Dublin 8. A theme of this year’s forum will be the ongoing review of the national poverty target. An input on the review will be given and participants will have the opportunity to express their views on the subject.  

Further details will be made available nearer the event.

Government Departments & Social Partners

We will hold a number of consultation meetings with the government departments responsible for monitoring the lifecycle stages from the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion. In addition to consulting with representatives of the Social Partners at the Technical Advisory Group consultation workshop we will also meet directly with the Social Partners in order to give them a further opportunity to contribute to the Review.

Consultation Paper

A consultation paper setting out the background to the national poverty target and identifying the main issues to be considered in the review has been produced and is attached at the link below.

Other Events

The Social Inclusion Division will also contribute to other events by providing inputs on the ongoing work of the review. These events will include the EAPN Series of Workshops on Europe 2020 Strategy and the UCD Frontiers in Poverty Research Summer School.

Background reading

Consultation paper on Review of national poverty target

National Reform Programme for Ireland under the Europe 2020 Strategy

Programme for National Government 2011 - 2016

National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007 - 2016

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