Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

Tugaim buíochas don Teachta as an cheist seo a thógáil ag an am seo.

There are currently 23,300 community employment places of which 2,200 places are ring-fenced for the delivery of child care services. Over the years community employment has become a valuable resource in the provision of a range of services to communities, including child care services. The total community employment expenditure on child care amounted to €29.4 million in 2011. There has been no reduction in the number of community employment places dedicated to supporting child care services.

The overall trend in demand for community employment places has not declined in recent months. All participants on community employment receive at least €20 per week in excess of their original social welfare payment. There are a large number of social welfare recipient categories eligible for community employment, for example, persons on jobseeker's allowance, as well as lone parents and community employment participation by lone parents is not restricted to child care projects. Notwithstanding this, the participation of lone parents on community employment make a valuable contribution to child care provision.

The Department is working closely with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in relation to strengthening child care provision at community level. Child care support provided under community employment fully supports the Early Childhood Care and Education Framework. While there is some indication that participation rates by lone parents have declined somewhat between January and March on community employment, it is too soon to say if this trend will continue. The Department will be monitoring participation rates of all the cohorts on community employment to identify any impacts of the removal of double payments to lone parents and people with a disability.

The one parent family payment is one of the range of social assistance payments available to people on limited means. In the past in Ireland, income support for people of working age, including the one parent family payment, has been passive in nature, with little systematic engagement by the State with the customer. This passive income support to people of working age is not now considered to be in the best interests of the recipient, of their children or of society.

Lone parent families continue to experience higher rates of consistent poverty in comparison to the population generally. EU-SILC figures published in November 2011 show that in 2010 9.3% of lone parents in Ireland were experiencing consistent poverty, compared to 7% of two-parent households and to 6.2% of the population as a whole. This indicates that the long-term income support that the one parent family payment scheme provided up to 2011, until children were aged 18, or 22 if in full-time education, to lone parents without any requirement for them to engage in employment, education or training was not effective in addressing the poverty and social exclusion experienced by some of these families.

The Department of Social Protection considers that the best route out of poverty and social exclusion is through paid employment. Work, and especially full-time work, may not be an option for parents of young children. However, supporting parents to participate in the labour market, once their children have reached an appropriate age, will improve both their own economic situation and the social well-being of themselves and of their families.

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