Speech by Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the launch of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026—2030 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 27 May 2026

Check against delivery

Good morning everyone, agus fáilte romhaibh ar fad.

It is a pleasure to be with you this morning to formally open the Social Inclusion Forum and to mark the launch of the Government’s new Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026–2030.

Ba mhaith liom ár mbuíochas ó chroí a ghabháil leis an Aire Calleary as gach duine a thabhairt le chéile anseo inniu don fhóram seo. Gabhaimid buíochas freisin leis as an obair mhór eagraithe ar fad a ghabhann le himeacht den chineál seo a chur i gcrích. Is deis thábhachtach é seo do chomhoibriú agus do phlé, agus táimid an-bhuíoch den cheannaireacht agus den tiomantas a léirítear.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Minister Calleary for bringing everyone together here today for this Forum. I also thank him and his team for the very significant effort that goes into delivering an event of this kind.

This is an important opportunity for collaboration and discussion, and I am very appreciative of the levels of commitment shown.

The Social Inclusion Forum has, over the past 21 years, become an important national space for engagement between people who have experienced poverty and social exclusion, the community and voluntary sector, service providers, researchers and policymakers.

This Forum matters because poverty and social exclusion shape everyday life for families, communities, workplaces, schools and services.

The Forum helps ensure that poverty and social exclusion is visible, understood and reflected in how Government thinks, plans and acts.

Today’s gathering is particularly significant. It allows us not only to pause and reflect, but to look ahead. The discussions that take place today will help shape how public policies are made and delivered in the years ahead.

New Roadmap

The Roadmap for Social Inclusion we are launching today sets out a renewed, whole of government commitment to tackling poverty and social exclusion. It reflects the reality that these challenges are complex, long term and multi-dimensional. But we are not starting from scratch.

The Roadmap builds on previous strategies, including Ireland’s first National Anti‑Poverty Strategy, launched in 1997 – the very first such strategy in Europe, as well as its more recent predecessor the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020–2025.

Ireland’s leadership is making an impact. Just recently the European Commission has announced the first ever EU anti-poverty strategy with the aim of eradicating poverty in the EU by 2050.

While of course we share this ambition with our European partners, I believe our new roadmap gives us the framework to move much faster than that.

Over the past five years, significant progress has been achieved in transport, education, health, childcare, disability and digital inclusion, with a strong focus on easing cost pressures on households and improving access to essential services.

While we have much more to do, I do think it is worth acknowledging that we have already: extended hot school meals to all primary schools; taken steps to address holiday hunger; enhanced access to childcare; supported digital inclusion; introduced GP Visit Cards for all children under eight; increased delivery of residential, respite and therapy services for disabled children and adults; established the Education Therapy Service; expanded the wage subsidy scheme; and, delivered free schoolbooks to all children at primary and post primary level.

These initiatives, and many more, are making a real tangible difference every day.

We have already taken some really important steps to reduce child poverty.

The establishment of the Child Poverty and Well Being Programme Office in my own Department has helped to drive coordinated, whole of government action. Working closely with the Department of Social Protection and other Departments, the Office has supported a more joined up approach to policy delivery.

We now have real momentum behind our ambition to reduce child poverty to under 3% by the end of 2030.

Similarly, reflecting the significant barriers and unique challenges facing disabled people, and as part of a new whole-of-Government approach, the new Disability Unit that I have established in my Department is bringing a renewed focus and urgency to disability issues.

The Unit is working across and with Departments to effect a step change in the delivery of disability services, and to advance the rights and improve the lives of disabled people and their families.

Today’s Forum

As I have said, this Forum is a vital part of how Government listens, reflects, and responds.

One of the most important lessons we have learned over many years is that people do not live their lives in silos. Whether people are young, old, working, caring, disabled, they live their lives in families, in communities, in schools, in workplaces, and in neighbourhoods.

Government recognises the varied complexities of people’s lives and the need to respond to what they need most.

This Forum provides a space to hear directly from those who experience disadvantage and from those who work every day to address it. That insight is essential if policy is to be credible and effective.

As I open this Forum I wanted to reaffirm the support of my office — but also to emphasise shared responsibility. Government must lead, set direction, and commit resources.

But real progress only happens through partnership: with communities, services, civil society organisations, and with people who bring deep expertise grounded in experience.

Tackling poverty and social exclusion effectively, is difficult. It requires coordination, persistence, and honesty about what works and what does not.

Today we formally launch the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026–2030, the Government’s new whole of government strategy to reduce poverty and strengthen social inclusion over the next five years.

The ambition at the heart of this Roadmap is very clear: to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or less by 2030, and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the world.

That ambition reflects our values as a society—but also our responsibility to act in the interests of all of our futures.

Poverty and exclusion undermine dignity.

They limit opportunity, weaken community resilience, and reduce social cohesion. They also hold back our wider economic and social progress.

We know that when people are supported to realise their potential—through secure income, access to services, education, and meaningful participation—everyone benefits.

Communities become stronger, the economy more resilient, and society more cohesive.

Social protection is not a cost; it is an investment in our collective future.

This Roadmap gives us the framework to continue to drive real progress across government. It articulates our collective and shared mission.

Addressing poverty is about adequate income but crucially, it is also about access to housing, healthcare, education, employment, transport, digital connectivity, and community supports.

No single department, programme, or initiative can address poverty on its own.

Social inclusion requires sustained coordination across Government and strong partnership beyond it. That is why this Roadmap will be delivered through cross government actions, overseen by a dedicated governance structure, and monitored through regular reporting and review.

This Roadmap is a tool for implementation, accountability, and measurable progress.

Success will depend on continued engagement with those in this room and far beyond it.

This Forum is an opportunity not just to launch a strategy, but to challenge ourselves: Are we doing the right things?

Are we doing them fast enough? What challenges do we need to overcome?

I want today to be a space for honest discussion—about progress, gaps, and priorities for the years ahead.

Close

In closing, I want to thank you. Thank you for your commitment, your energy, your creativity and your resilience.

We are making progress. and I am pleased with how far we have come together, but I don’t want to underestimate the work that is left to do.

When I look around the room today I am filled with hope for our collective ambition.

The richness of experience and expertise in this room speaks for itself — and it is this collective strength that will drive us to deliver on the ambition of the new Roadmap.

I wish you a productive and constructive Forum, and I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh.

ENDS