Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to raise the impact the cutbacks in community employment schemes will have on child-care provision services, particularly for those in receipt of the one-parent family payment who are working on community employment schemes. There are 1,288 community child-care facilities, many of them heavily subsidised and many operating in very socially and economically disadvantaged areas. Approximately 20% of the 8,200 employees in these facilities are community employment workers. This means that approximately 2,000 people who are involved in community child-care facilities are community employment scheme workers. Approximately 70% of those people are lone parents. It is important to consider any change the Government makes in this area because it will have a disproportionate impact on lone parents working on community employment schemes, which have been cut as a result of the recent changes.

In the budget in December, and in the Social Welfare Bill that was then introduced by the Minister for Social Protection, changes to the community employment scheme for lone parents make it less attractive for single parents to stay on community employment schemes. Until recently, lone parents participating in community employment schemes could keep their one parent family payment, as well as receiving the community employment payment of €208 per week. Since January, they must give up one of these payments. Since then, we have seen people whose terms have ended on community employment schemes leaving those schemes and very few lone parents are now applying to start the schemes. As a result, many schemes are now finding it difficult to recruit people to work in child care facilities.

It is the norm for the majority of one parent families to have some part-time work and such a person can earn up to €146 per week and retain the entire allowance or earn up to €450 per week while still keeping a small part of the one parent family payment. A person earning €146 can keep the full payment of €188 per week. I cannot understand why of all employees, the only group to which the rule does not apply is to those on community employment. A person on community employment who earns more than €200 per week loses the entire entitlement to the one parent family payment. If that person was working in a shop next door to the community employment scheme, or even working in a child care facility but employed directly by the facility, she could earn more than €200 per week while keeping most of the one parent family payment. If she happens to be on a community employment scheme, however, she will see her income cut. It is discrimination, singling out the one parent family parent who is participating in the community employment scheme. It is also having a detrimental impact on child care facilities around the country. What has the Minister against one parent families and the community employment schemes? The Minister is singling out those in receipt of the payment and on a community employment scheme for the biggest cut in income that does not apply to any other category of employment.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Tugaim buíochas don Teachta as an cheist seo a thógáil ag an am seo.

There are currently 23,300 community employment places of which 2,200 places are ring-fenced for the delivery of child care services. Over the years community employment has become a valuable resource in the provision of a range of services to communities, including child care services. The total community employment expenditure on child care amounted to €29.4 million in 2011. There has been no reduction in the number of community employment places dedicated to supporting child care services.

The overall trend in demand for community employment places has not declined in recent months. All participants on community employment receive at least €20 per week in excess of their original social welfare payment. There are a large number of social welfare recipient categories eligible for community employment, for example, persons on jobseeker's allowance, as well as lone parents and community employment participation by lone parents is not restricted to child care projects. Notwithstanding this, the participation of lone parents on community employment make a valuable contribution to child care provision.

The Department is working closely with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in relation to strengthening child care provision at community level. Child care support provided under community employment fully supports the Early Childhood Care and Education Framework. While there is some indication that participation rates by lone parents have declined somewhat between January and March on community employment, it is too soon to say if this trend will continue. The Department will be monitoring participation rates of all the cohorts on community employment to identify any impacts of the removal of double payments to lone parents and people with a disability.

The one parent family payment is one of the range of social assistance payments available to people on limited means. In the past in Ireland, income support for people of working age, including the one parent family payment, has been passive in nature, with little systematic engagement by the State with the customer. This passive income support to people of working age is not now considered to be in the best interests of the recipient, of their children or of society.

Lone parent families continue to experience higher rates of consistent poverty in comparison to the population generally. EU-SILC figures published in November 2011 show that in 2010 9.3% of lone parents in Ireland were experiencing consistent poverty, compared to 7% of two-parent households and to 6.2% of the population as a whole. This indicates that the long-term income support that the one parent family payment scheme provided up to 2011, until children were aged 18, or 22 if in full-time education, to lone parents without any requirement for them to engage in employment, education or training was not effective in addressing the poverty and social exclusion experienced by some of these families.

The Department of Social Protection considers that the best route out of poverty and social exclusion is through paid employment. Work, and especially full-time work, may not be an option for parents of young children. However, supporting parents to participate in the labour market, once their children have reached an appropriate age, will improve both their own economic situation and the social well-being of themselves and of their families.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I also wanted to point out the benefits of people participating in this scheme. Until now, they were able to get FETAC qualifications.

I note the Minister of State mentioned there are indications that participation rates by lone parents declined between January and March. The change was introduced in January and it had an immediate effect, which has continued for the subsequent three months for which there are figures. The decline is continuing still. Logic dictates that if we cut the payments of people on these schemes, fewer people will offer to go forward. The Minister of State's script also pointed out that the level of consistent poverty among lone parents is 9.3% compared to 6.2% in the population as a whole. Consistent poverty, in other words, is 50% higher among lone parents. The Minister's response is to help them out of poverty by cutting their payments. I do not understand that logic. Perhaps I am stupid but I do not get how the Minister can say a group has the highest level of consistent poverty and to help that group, she will cut their payments. The Minister of State claimed this will improve their financial independence. It will remove their dependence on the State but the Minister seems to think there is a pot of gold there for them to earn money somewhere else, allowing them to be financially independent.

Two reviews of community employment are under way. Has the Minister considered as part of those reviews the impact of cut-backs on the one parent family payment recipients? Will they cover the impact of the cuts to child care schemes? Will the Minister of State consider the value of the training offered by these schemes until now?

The training and materials allocations have been cut while the reviews are under way. The schemes are now holding back from allowing people to go on training courses because they do not know what the budget will be for the rest of the year. Effectively, at local level within many of the schemes, approval to take up a training scheme or training day or week has been suspended because this review is continuing. I ask that it be concluded, the results published and the funding restored to the training and materials budget as urgently as possible.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I stated in my original reply that there are, nationally, 23,300 community employment schemes of which 2,200 are specifically ring-fenced for the delivery of child care services. I understand that, as of April, there were 1,792 participants in ring-fenced child care places in community employment schemes. That is a significant number. I also stated there was some indication that participation rates for lone parents declined somewhat between January and March. We cannot be more specific than that at present but the situation is being monitored. Within the resources available, the Government places a high premium on the provision of child care places, given that 2,200 are already ring-fenced. The situation will be monitored as the year progresses.