Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 107: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs further to his comments in newspapers (details supplied) when he expects recruitment and training to be completed for personal advisers and counsellors for lone parents as part of his Department's drive to improve services to lone parents; when access to these persons will be available to lone parents in each of the 52 local welfare offices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11906/05]

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 142: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs further to his comments in a newspaper (details supplied), if the 30 officials who are already trained to provide advice for lone parents are providing advice and counselling services to lone parents; if so, the locations at which they are based; if not, when will they begin providing these services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11907/05]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 147: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will elaborate on his reported plan to allocate personal advisers to lone parents to give them a better opportunity to enter the workforce or the education system; the way in which the proposed system will work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11828/05]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 157: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs further to his comments in a newspaper (details supplied), the locations of the 52 local welfare offices at which the personal advisers for lone parents will be based; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11908/05]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of advisers he intends to put in place by the end of 2005 to serve the more than 80,000 persons receiving the one parent family payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11807/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 107, 142, 147, 157 and 161 together.

Lone parents represent a significant proportion of the working age group, after people with disabilities and the unemployed, receiving weekly social welfare payments. At the end of 2004 there were 79,181 recipients of the one parent family payment, up from 58,960 in 1997. There are, in addition, 13,125 lone parents with children in receipt of payments under social insurance — 8,687 widowed persons and 4,528 deserted wives. In total, therefore, 92,306 lone parents are receiving weekly payments under the social welfare system, who between them have 150,122 qualified children.

Poverty surveys show consistently that lone parent households are among those most at risk of poverty. This is due mainly to long-term dependence on social welfare payments, beginning often at an early stage of life before it has been possible to accumulate savings, a home and other assets.

It is now generally accepted that the main route out of poverty and into self-sufficiency and a better standard of living is employment. It is estimated that 60% of one parent family recipients overall are currently in full or part-time employment.

A proportion of these recipients are in employment that provides a gross wage of less than €146.50 per week or €7,618 per annum, which entitles them to receive the one parent family payment at the maximum rate without a means deduction.

However, a recent OECD study on reconciling work and family life, in which Ireland participated, showed that employment participation among lone parents in Ireland is lower than in many other developed countries and that many who are in employment are in part-time, relatively low paid, employment. The growth in the number of recipients of the one parent family payment since 1997, and their relatively low employment participation rates, has coincided with rapid employment growth in the economy and in female participation in employment generally.

It is the case that already a significant proportion of lone parents avail of opportunities to take up education and training programmes operated by my Department, the Department of Education and Science, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and agencies such as FÁS. Many more take the opportunity afforded them under the one parent family payment to take up employment, as mentioned earlier.

These varying situations require tailored interventions, which represent a key feature of my Department's involvement with clients on the live register through the role of the job facilitator. An evaluation of this role recommended that it should also focus on those most distant from the labour market. This involves going beyond the live register to encompass those clients on other departmental schemes who face equivalent problems, such as lone parents and people with disabilities.

As regards to lone parents, this may ultimately include offering a package of advice and support, tailored to meet the needs of each lone parent and helping to construct a realistic action plan detailing steps to be taken to assist them in finding education, training and work, while ensuring the necessary child care arrangements are in place.

My Department has a facilitator service which provides advice and support to persons seeking education, training or return to work. The service is available to lone parents and other categories of recipients. The implications of extending this service are being assessed and I hope to bring forward proposals in this regard in the near future.