Minister O'Gorman Launches Online Consultation on the EU Child Guarantee
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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Last updated on
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, T.D., today (01 December) announced the launch of an online consultation process on the EU Child Guarantee.
The aim of the European Child Guarantee is to prevent and combat social exclusion by guaranteeing access of children in need to a set of key services. Agreed by all Member States in June of this year, it provides guidance and tools to support children in need: persons under the age of 18 who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
In relation to key services identified and agreed, Member States have been asked to take into account the specific needs of children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as those experiencing homelessness, disabilities, with precarious family situations, migrant, minority racial or ethnic backgrounds or those in alternative care.
Member States are requested to provide free access to:
In addition, effective access to the following is sought:
Commenting on the launch of the consultation, Minister O’Gorman noted:
“We all know that experiencing intergenerational cycles of poverty, educational disadvantage and unemployment seriously hinder a child’s or young person’s opportunities in life. Our response to these long standing societal challenges needs to become sharper and more systematic, focusing on addressing entrenched child poverty, and improving life for children in Ireland.
"The EU Child Guarantee provides Ireland with a real opportunity to re-focus and, where necessary, re-evaluate our approach in tackling child poverty and promoting children’s well-being. It supports a renewed and strengthened cross-Government focus on children and young people and to continue to make progress in reducing child poverty further, with the objective of meeting our ambitious targets.
"I’d encourage everyone to engage with this process so that our plans and implementation structures for this critical piece of work are as informed as possible.”
The online consultation is open from today (01 December) and will close to submissions on 17 December.
ENDS