Dr. Tricia Keilthy:

It is of real concern considering that survey on income and living conditions, SILC, data show that the incidence of in-work poverty among this group is increasing. A survey of income and living conditions has been conducted up to 2017 and there have been some incremental improvements in the last two budgets in supports for lone parents at work to undo the effects of some of the cuts implemented during the austerity years. We hope to see an improvement in the figures once the new data are released towards the end of the year. The earnings disregard was increased to €150 in budget 2019. In nominal terms, it was higher than it was before being cut, but in real terms because of the number of hours worked and the national minimum wage, it was below it. It needs to be increased to €166 per week to reflect the increases in the national minimum wage in order that the same number of hours can be disregarded as in 2010.

The Senator is 100% correct on the jobseeker's transition payment and jobseeker's allowance. There is a very complex system in place that a lone parent needs to navigate if he or she is working part-time. If someone is working part-time and on the national minimum wage, when his or her child reaches the age of seven years, he or she will have to choose between keeping the working family payment or using the earnings disregard attached to the jobseeker's transition payment. Either of these options will leave the person concerned approximately €80 less well off every week. This issue has to be looked at. We have recommended that the working family payment be made payable with the jobseeker's transition payment to ensure people would not lose out in the transition phase.

When the youngest child reaches the age of 14 years, the earnings disregard changes, such that the person concerned can spread the hours over five days, but if someone is on jobseeker's allowance, he or she can only work his or her hours over three days in a week. That is the difference. He or she will lose out and the earnings disregard is a lot lower also. We agree and have it included in our proposal that the jobseekers' transition payment period be extended until someone's youngest child is 18 years. It is a critical point that there be investment in training and education supports for those furthest from the labour market to enable them to make the transition to sustainable employment and decent work once their youngest child is 18 years old.

Last year was the first time the State recognised the additional costs faced by parents with older children when the qualified child increase for children over the age of 12 years was introduced. It was largely based on the work of the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice which showed that the cost of supporting a teenager was significantly higher than that for younger children. There is a mechanism in place, but the increase needs to be a lot greater to meet the total cost of raising a teenager. It also needs to be increased in the budget.