Government launches new national strategy to reduce poverty and improve social inclusion

• Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister Dara Calleary launch the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026–2030 at Social Inclusion Forum

The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin and the Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary today launched the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026–2030 at the Department of Social Protection’s Social Inclusion Forum in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

This Strategy outlines the Government’s plan to reduce poverty and improve social inclusion in Ireland for the next five years.

Building on the work of predecessor strategies from 1997, the Roadmap aims to:

To support these ambitions, the strategy sets out 63 cross-Government actions.

Given the multi-dimensional nature of poverty, these actions span a wide range of areas - including income supports, employment, housing, education, health, transport, childcare and community supports - and are all focused on reducing poverty and improving social inclusion.

The strategy focuses on those most impacted by poverty – families with children on low income, lone parents, disabled persons, older people and disadvantaged communities.

It also aligns with the EU’s first Anti-Poverty Strategy published this month and delivers the EU’s call to Member States to put in place national anti-poverty policy frameworks.

The Roadmap is being launched today at the Social Inclusion Forum, an annual event that brings together Government officials, people experiencing poverty and social exclusion, and representative organisations to discuss poverty reduction and social inclusion in Ireland.

This year’s event takes place in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, with 250 attendees in person and additional participation online. The event is jointly organised by the Department of Social Protection, the European Anti-Poverty Network and Community Work Ireland.

Opening the forum, the Taoiseach emphasised the importance of sustained, inclusive and evidence-based action to address poverty, and the central role of engagement with communities and people with lived experience in shaping effective policy.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said:

“The Social Inclusion Forum plays a vital role in shaping how we respond to poverty and social exclusion in Ireland. At the Forum, we will hear from those who have lived experience, ensuring that our decisions are informed by real lives and real challenges. This engagement is essential if we are to achieve meaningful and lasting change, and real outcomes for people and communities.

The launch of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026–2030 marks a renewed and ambitious commitment by Government to reducing poverty, supporting families and individuals, and building an Ireland where everyone can live with dignity and participate fully in society.

I will work closely with my colleague, Minister Dara Calleary, and my colleagues across Government, to ensure that this Roadmap helps deliver outcomes that strengthen our communities, our economy and our society as a whole.”

Also speaking at the Social Inclusion Forum, Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary said:

“When it comes to reducing poverty and fostering social inclusion, it is incumbent on us to be ambitious. And that is what this new Roadmap is, the Government’s ambitious agenda for the next five years to continue to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU. Our focus is those in our communities who are most disadvantaged and impacted by poverty and exclusion, and the 63 actions laid out reflect this.”

Minister Calleary continued:

“Delivery of this Roadmap requires a whole of Government approach, which is why we have actions covering many areas, from income supports to employment, housing, health, education and others.

Along with Government delivering on these actions, meeting the Roadmap’s ambitions will require continued collaboration with those with lived experience of poverty and social exclusion, and the community and voluntary sector, to ensure our work is informed and targeted to those most in need. Which is why today’s Social Inclusion Forum is so important, enabling dialogue on these crucial matters.”

Notes:

The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026-2030 is available here: www.gov.ie/roadmapforsocialinclusion2026-2030.

A report on the Social Inclusion Forum 2026 will also be made available on Gov.ie/dsp.

The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026-2030 outlines the Government’s plan to reduce poverty and improve social inclusion in Ireland for the next five years.

The Strategy was informed by an extensive public consultation process, which received almost 500 submissions, and direct engagement with community and voluntary representative organisations and Government Departments.

The Roadmap’s ambition is, by the end of 2030, to:

• Reduce the consistent poverty rate* to 2% or less
• Reduce income inequality
• Make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive Member States of the EU.

The Roadmap also contains 3 High-Level Objectives:

1. Reduce poverty and inequality levels - with a particular focus on children, lone parent families, older people, disabled people and marginalised communities.
2. Embed social inclusion, connection and community resilience as key objectives across all State polices and through fostering and supporting community and voluntary activity.
3. Foster inclusive growth, supporting labour market participation and employment while ensuring adequate social protection and safety nets.

To help achieve its ambition and objectives, the Roadmap outlines 63 cross-government actions, spanning income supports and other key areas - employment, housing, education, health, transport, childcare and public and community services.

The 63 actions are focused on those groups that the data shows are most impacted by poverty and social exclusion - families with children on low income, lone parents, disabled persons, older people and disadvantaged communities including Travellers and Roma.

Progress in delivering the Roadmap will be overseen by an inter-departmental Steering Group, chaired by the Minister for Social Protection, with representation from the community and voluntary sector, and monitored through quarterly updates and in annual reports to Government, which will be published on Gov.ie.

A mid-term review in 2028 will assess progress and allow for adjustments if required.

The most recent data on poverty is the Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2025 published by the Central Statistics Office, which shows a national consistent poverty* rate of 4.7%.

*Consistent poverty is the overlap between:

• The At-Risk-of Poverty rate, which measures individuals whose equivalised household income is below 60% of the national median income, and
• Enforced Deprivation, which measures households who cannot afford least 2 out of 11 essential items.