The Minister for Social Inclusion is calling for free hot meals to be extended to childcare facilities, as part of a new plan to tackle food poverty.
The report by Minister of State Joe O'Brien aims to map out how the Government can reach its aim of reducing the number of people living in poverty in Ireland to just 2% by 2025.
Currently 8.9% of the population are in food poverty, with 6.2% in severe food deprivation.
The Minister is also calling for an expansion of the meals-on-wheels programme and significant increases in welfare payments targeted at children, to help tackle the issue.
