Taoiseach Micheál Martin hosted the third annual Child Poverty and Well-being Summit on Thursday at the Axis Arts and Community Resource Centre in Ballymun, Dublin.

The summit convened government ministers, policymakers, and community representatives to review progress on national welfare commitments and outline policy priorities ahead of Budget 2027. In his address, Mr Martin described addressing child poverty as the government's "north star" and stated that child welfare would remain a key priority as budgetary allocations are finalized in the coming weeks.

The event reaffirmed the government's target to reduce consistent child poverty to 3% or below by 2030. Data from the Children's Rights Alliance Child Poverty Monitor cited during the summit indicated that 7.8% of children—representing 95,170 individuals—experienced consistent poverty in 2025, down from 8.5% in 2024, while 206,202 children were listed as at risk of falling below the poverty line.

Tánaiste Simon Harris also spoke at the gathering, focusing on online protections for young people and calling for stronger child safety policies across social media platforms. Meanwhile, community stakeholders and advocacy organizations emphasized the need for continued targeted investments in housing, childcare, and social welfare supports to sustain momentum toward national poverty reduction goals.