Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 32:

In page 14, after line 7, to insert the following:

"10. The Minister shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report on:(a) policy options around the extension of jobseeker’s transitional payment to include one parent families with a child up to eighteen years of age; and

(b) policy options around the extension of jobseeker’s transitional payment to include a foster parent of a child up to eighteen years of age.".

This amendment relates to an issue discussed previously, namely, jobseeker's transitional payment. At present, when the youngest child in a family reaches the age of seven, persons who were previously in receipt of one-parent family payment move to jobseeker's transitional payment. This affords them access on a voluntary basis to employment, education and training supports and casework and allows them to retain a high level of income disregard. I hope the Minister takes my proposal on board because I recognise that by introducing a qualified child increase for teenage children in the last budget, she recognised that there can be additional costs and challenges facing those parenting teenage children. My concern is when the youngest child reaches the age of 14, a person parenting alone simply moves to a normal jobseeker's payment and is no longer entitled to the jobseeker's transitional payment and there is no longer the implicit recognition that the person is parenting alone and faces particular challenges in terms of balancing care responsibilities and work.

There is a waiver of the requirement for availability for full-time employment, which is a requirement in terms of jobseeker's payments, for those on the jobseeker's transitional payment. Many will still choose to seek and take up full-time employment but that waiver means that there is a recognition that there may be circumstances in which they may not be available for full-time employment, for example, if they have a child with particular needs who needs particular care at particular times of the week.

I am asking the Minister to consider extending the jobseeker's transitional payment until the youngest child is 18, which would ensure that a person parenting alone will still be engaging with the system, have casework and be open to and supported in respect of accessing education, employment or training and will retain a higher level of income disregard and be entitled to a waiver, where that is necessary, regarding availability for full-time employment. It would acknowledge that those parenting alone with children aged 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 are still parents and do not have another parent to support them or share that work.