Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The number of one-parent family recipients stood at 87,824 in January 2013. The cost of the one-parent family scheme was €1.06 billion in 2012 and it is estimated to cost approximately the same in 2013. The current reforms to the one-parent family payment aim to prevent long-term dependence on social welfare support and to facilitate financial independence among lone parents, to recognise parental choice with regard to the care of young children but with the expectation that parents will not remain outside of the labour force indefinitely and to include an expectation of participation in education, training and employment. The reformed scheme will bring Ireland's support for lone parents in line with international provisions where there is a general movement away from long-term and passive income support and towards helping people to have life chances and choices in respect of education, training and employment with a view to financial independence for themselves and their children.

I am very conscious that the changes to the one-parent family payment scheme highlight the need for additional supports for lone parents that will be affected by these reforms. In particular, there will be a need for additional after-school child care provision so as to assist former one-parent family payment recipients in making their transition into employment or other activation supports.

The joint child care initiative that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, and I announced, as part of budget 2013 and funded by my Department is in recognition of the support these individuals will require. This initiative will provide approximately 6,000 after-school child care places for low-income families and social welfare income support recipients who gain employment and who have children of primary school age. Officials from my Department, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, and the Department of Education and Skills are currently working out the exact parameters of the scheme, which will be launched on a phased basis during 2013, commencing with a pilot in April 2013.

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