Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department will spend an estimated €502 million on the one-parent family payment scheme in 2018. The scheme currently supports more than 39,000 recipients and their almost 73,000 children and has played an important role in providing income support to lone parents since its introduction in 1997. However, income support for lone parents was passive in nature in the past and involved limited engagement by the State employment services with recipients. Research shows that being at work reduces the at-risk-of-poverty rate for lone parents by 75% compared to those who do not work. This highlights that the best way to tackle poverty among lone parents is to assist them into education and then employment or directly into employment. Access to activation supports is vital to achieve this objective and it is, therefore, imperative that the Department continues to engage with lone parents to assist them into good careers.

The unconditional nature of the payment, which was unique in Europe, coupled with its long duration, has, over time, contributed to long-term social welfare dependency and, as the Deputy rightly describes, associated poverty among many lone parents and their children. Reforms to the scheme were introduced to address the issue of poverty specifically. The reforms provide enhanced access to the Department's Intreo service for lone parents once the youngest child turns seven years of age. Access to the Department's range of education and employment support services is essential to facilitate lone parents to progress into sustainable employment and financial independence. Budget 2018 contained a number of measures to support lone parents, including working lone parents. For example, a lone parent on the jobseeker's transitional payment working 15 hours at the national minimum wage experienced an increase in his or her overall income of almost €1,000 per annum. The budget also increased the disregard and the qualified-child payment which changes saw some people being moved out of consistent poverty. While I agree with the Deputy that we have a long way to go, it is only by intensifying the supports we give to those 39,000 lone parents that we will achieve fruitful careers and financial independence for them for the rest of their lives.

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