Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

71. To ask the Minister for Social Protection not to allow the 27% cut to the lone-parent allowance in July as this will lead to more families and children in poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30948/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The one-parent family payment, OFP scheme supports over 74,400 recipients at an estimated cost of €863 million in 2014. Despite significant levels of State spending, the results have been poor in tackling poverty rates among lone-parent families. The aim of the current reforms is to provide the necessary supports to lone parents to help them to escape joblessness by providing them with improved access to education, training and employment programmes.

The reforms to the OFP scheme are being introduced on a phased basis over several years. On 3 July, the latest phase of the OFP reforms was implemented when 5,140 lone parents transferred entitlement from OFP to other schemes. Affected persons with a child aged under 14 years will be entitled to the jobseeker's allowance transitional arrangement, which exempts them from having to be genuinely seeking, and available for, full-time employment. This enables lone parents with young children who are working part-time, for example, mornings only, to remain in work and to receive income and activation supports as appropriate. Others affected will transfer to family income supplement, jobseeker's allowance, carer’s allowance and some other schemes.

The majority of recipients will not suffer any reduction in their new payment as they are not working. However, lone parents who are working and who transfer to jobseeker's allowance may suffer a reduction in their payment due to the fact that the jobseeker's allowance means test is less generous than the OFP means test. The exact amount of this reduction will depend on the customers’ earnings. However, the Department has advised all individuals that where they work a minimum of 19 hours per week or can increase their hours to that level, to apply for the family income supplement as this is the most beneficial income support available to them.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her response. I also congratulate her and wish her well in her new portfolio. I also wish my former city council colleague, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, all the best and congratulate him on his appointment as Minister of State. It is a great day for his family and all his friends and I wish him well in the future. To be honest, I know he will have a good feel for social welfare.

It is very important that we keep our eye on the ball in dealing with children living in poverty. It is necessary to intervene early and to give support to families. I welcome what the Minister said about family income supplement. It is a key part of the strategy. If we want children to develop, we must target those in poverty. I urge the Minister to make the issue a major priority in the next two years.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his kind remarks, in particular those relating to his former city council colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys.

The critical issue is to focus on the outcomes. Although the State has invested, properly, very significant resources in one-parent families, I remain concerned that, as has been shown in a range of studies, the outcomes are not as strong as they might be. With the new structures we are moving to, we will be doing what many countries we admire in terms of social welfare provision are doing, which is to encourage people at a certain stage, when their children are well settled in school, and through a whole set of supports to go back to education, training and ultimately to employment. I have made significant additional resources available in respect of family income supplement to provide a top-up for families with children. The Deputy might have seen a recent report by the ESRI showing that among households without significant amounts of work for adults, lone parents are among the family units which might have such difficulty. We will emphasise the opportunities around training and education in order that people can take them up at an appropriate time, and we hope that will help many people to get a fairly well-paying job.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As Deputy O'Donovan is not present we will move on to a question from Deputy Kyne.