Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 124: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons on job initiative schemes who have lost their entitlement to the one parent family payment due to recent wage rises in these schemes which have put the recipients above the income threshold for this payment; his proposals to increase the income threshold for this payment to take account of this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15734/05]

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 127: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the consideration which has been given to job initiative participants in receipt of the one parent family payment, who have seen a net fall in income after a recent increase in job initiative rates. [15845/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 124 and 127 together.

The job initiative programme is one of a number of FÁS schemes in which lone parents may participate. Under the programme, full time employment is provided in the social economy for individuals who are over 35 years and fulfil certain criteria. Lone parents can qualify for the programme if they have been on one parent family payment, unemployment assistance, unemployment benefit or any combination of these schemes for a minimum of five years.

Figures received from FÁS confirm that there are 450 lone parents who are on the job initiative programme. With effect from 1 January 2005, these and other job initiative employees earn a minimum of €346.40 for their 39 hour week, substantially more than the national minimum wage. This is an increase from the minimum €318.40 payment that applied for the calendar year 2004, which in itself was higher than the €293 upper income threshold for receipt of the one parent family payment.

I can confirm, therefore, that due to the job initiative earnings being substantially over the income threshold for receipt of the one parent family payment, the recent increase in earnings for job initiative employees, effective from 1 January this year, cannot have led to the loss of the one parent family payment for any participant.

I would also like to point out that job initiative employees with families may be entitled to family income supplement, a weekly payment for families, including one parent families, at work on low pay. All employees working a minimum of 19 hours per week and with at least one qualifying child are entitled to apply, provided the family income is below the qualifying income limit. For the current year, qualifying income limits for families start at €446 per week for a family with one child and increase to €623 per week for families with eight or more children.