Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for highlighting the issues and challenges that one-parent families face. I will give a broader picture of what we have been doing to date. In 2023, the employer relations division delivered 1,387 employment engagement activities, and almost 2,000 activities to support recruitment. Included in this were 610 events such as career fairs, employer roadshows, recruitment events and general information events. During these events, a full presentation of departmental services and programmes was made. These presentations included promotion of the various incentives available to employers to hire people in receipt of the one-parent family payment in order to increase awareness of the need to build opportunities and support for single-parent families in the labour force.

Seven specific events have been held this year, which focus on the one-parent family payment or the jobseeker's transitional payment. These include two events organised for International Women's Day. Some 984 invitations were issued to the virtual event, which focused on professional, scientific and technical activities. Recruitment events were organised with employers and organisations present. Communications issued to recipients of the payments regarding training courses and of these, 390 were placed on courses.

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