Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The one-parent family payment scheme supports close to 70,000 recipient lone parents and their children, at an estimated cost of €607 million in 2015. Despite significant investment, lone parents continue to experience higher levels of consistent poverty than the population generally. The best route out of poverty is through employment. The one-parent family payment scheme age reforms aim to reduce long-term social welfare dependency and associated poverty among lone parents and improve outcomes for their children. On foot of the reforms, lone parents will have enhanced access to education, training and employment supports with the aim of assisting them into employment.

Some 30,200 one-parent family payment scheme recipients will transition from the scheme on 2 July when the maximum age limit of the youngest child will be reduced to seven years. This is the same as in Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The majority are expected to move to the jobseeker’s allowance transitional arrangement. Under this arrangement - the money will stay exactly the same - lone parents whose youngest child is aged seven to 13 years are exempt from being available for and genuinely seeking full-time employment work, thereby reducing their child care requirements and giving them flexibility. However, it is proposed to encourage these lone parents to become involved in education and training. Then, when their children are more mature - over 13 years and in secondary school - they will have a better chance of being able to take up full-time or part-time employment as their family circumstances permit.

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