Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I do not propose to accept the amendment. The Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012 provides for the age limit of the youngest child for receipt of the one-parent family payment to be reduced gradually to 12 years of age in 2012, ten years in 2013 and seven years in 2014. This will apply to people who are new to the lone parents system after the enactment of the legislation. For other lone parents already in the system, the corresponding dates are 2015 and 2016. There is provision for a transition. It is standard practice when introducing such changes to put in place such transitional arrangements for existing customers for a period. This ensures existing customers are given notice of the change and are not affected abruptly. At the same time, from an administrative and efficiency point of view, it is not feasible to have different customers of the same scheme being treated in a different manner for an indefinite period. The reduction in the age limit is being applied to new and existing customers on a phased but different basis. Existing customers will not be affected by further age reductions until 2013 at the earliest.

The difficulty is that the effect of amendment No. 8 would be to remove the mitigating measures from the legislation. This is what Senator Cullinane is asking for in the amendment. The mitigating measures provide for a phased introduction for parents who come to lone parenting new. The measures will come in on a longer phased basis for parents who are already parenting on their own. If the amendment were passed, it would take all the mitigating transitional effects out of the arrangements. On that basis I would perhaps re-examine the amendment.