Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The alliance welcomed the confirmation that the PUP is available to parents who cannot work due to childcare issues and school closures. It believes, however, that the Government needs to go further and ensure that one-parent families are not pulled deeper into poverty. It is calling on the Government to implement ten urgent actions, seven of which are relevant to this Department. It is calling for special measures to increase payments to families with children and, in particular, lone parents. There is the fuel allowance assistance. Many of the actions proposed are already in train and in place, for example access for people caring for children to the PUP, communications with employers and potential beneficiaries and flexibility with rent supplement. Other actions required, such as payment increases, are best dealt with in a targeted manner via the supplementary welfare allowance. That payment is available to anybody who gets into difficulty. We have the exceptional needs payment, and I encourage people to use that payment.

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