Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

At the end of this month a very big issue will arise because 6,000 single parent families will no longer be in receipt of €70 a week in respect of the child under their care. This needed to be addressed because €70 a week is a big amount of money and equates to a food bill. It amounts to a €3,500 a year food bill which the 6,000 single parents affected by this, mostly women, will not receive. According to the Minister's explanation, a Scandinavian system was to be put in place before this amount of money was withdrawn. Has the Department made any assessment as to how many of the 6,000 parents will be eligible to apply for the family income supplement, FIS? This would at least be a counterbalance to some degree. The €70 a week, or €3,500 a year, for the 6,000 people amounts to €21 million. It is literally taking the food off the table of one-parent families unless there is a counterbalance. What is the counterbalance?

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