Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 15, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following:“(3) Within six months of the passing of this Act, the Minister will prepare a report for the House on the situation of lone parents who foster children but who are not the legal guardians of the children and therefore do not presently qualify for lone parent payments. This report shall examine any cases and provide costings of providing payments in such circumstances.”.

I hope the Minister keeps to form and agrees to pass this one too. I am sorry I missed the earlier ones. I am sure others have come across this before. It arises from a woman who was in receipt of lone parent payments. She had two children of her own who have since grown up and technically passed out of her responsibility, according to legislation. She is no longer entitled to lone parent payment but has two foster children in her care. She receives payment from the HSE for the children in foster care but she has been told by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection that she has to sign on as a jobseeker. How can she be a jobseeker and mind the children? If she is a jobseeker, she has to be available for work. If she is minding the children and has to make herself available for work, she will have to surrender the children according to the law here because she is not entitled to claim jobseeker's allowance unless she is available. This amendment seeks a report on this conundrum that will hopefully allow somebody in her position to continue to claim the lone parent payment in the circumstance where she is parenting foster children. That is being asked for here.

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