Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The predecessors to the previous Government introduced two cuts to the weekly rate of the one-parent family payment in budgets 2010 and 2011. When the previous Government took office in March 2011, there was a commitment in the programme for Government to maintain core weekly social welfare rates. This commitment has been maintained as the rate of the one-parent family payment has been maintained at €188 a week throughout the course of the Government. However, the previous Government reduced the income disregards that recipients of the one-parent family payment can receive when they are working. This resulted in a reduction in payments for some lone parents who were working while receiving benefits. The reforms also changed the conditionality around the one-parent family payment, including lowering the maximum age threshold for the youngest child to seven years of age.

The purpose of reducing the age thresholds of the one-parent family payment is for my Department to engage with lone parents with the aim of providing them with enhanced access to the wide range of education, training and employment supports that are available. Now that the economy is back on track, due the policy decisions made in recent years, there will be no need for further cuts to welfare payments. Unemployment is down by almost half, incomes are rising again and the public finances are back in order, demonstrating that we followed the right course politically as a country.

The 2016 budget improved the means test and increased the earnings disregards for lone parents in receipt of the jobseeker’s transitional payment. Other measures which benefited lone parents included the €5 increase in child benefit, an increase in fuel allowance of €2.50 per week - the fuel season began last week - and a 75% Christmas bonus. I am strongly of the view that welfare should be seen as a second chance or safety net. For this reason, any future reforms affecting lone parents will concentrate on making child care more affordable and work more attractive and reducing barriers to education rather than more welfare.

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