Mr. Niall Egan:

I echo the earlier remarks of my colleagues thanking the committee for the opportunity to appear before it today to discuss developments relating to one-parent family arrangements.

The one-parent family scheme has played an important role in providing income support to lone parents since its introduction in 1997. However, notwithstanding the availability of this support, and as members of the committee will be aware, lone parent families continue to experience high rates of consistent poverty compared to the population generally.

It is widely acknowledged that the best route out of poverty and social exclusion is through employment but it is also recognised that work, and especially full-time work, may not be an option for parents of young children. Accordingly, there is no job-seeking conditionality associated with the one-parent family payment scheme. The reforms which I will outline today seek to strike a balance between recognising that family commitments may constrain a lone parent’s availability for work while at the same time start a process for engaging with, and providing support to, lone parents so that they can participate in education, training and work experience programmes. In this way it is hoped to create a pathway to employment so that once their children reach an appropriate age, lone parents can improve their own, and their children's, economic and social circumstances.

The genesis of these reforms was contained in the 2006 report, Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents. This report recommended that a time limit for receipt of the payment be introduced. The report also advocated that lone parents should be engaged with in a systematic manner to facilitate their movement to education, training and employment.

The report also acknowledged that Ireland’s supports for lone parents were out of line with international norms, where there has been a general movement away from long-term and non-conditional support towards a more active engagement approach. For example, in the United Kingdom the equivalent lone parent scheme, the income support for lone parents, ceases when the youngest child reaches the age of five.