Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 17: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if under the proposed new family friendly payment, lone parents will be required to seek employment to benefit from the entitlement. [37122/05]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 18: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the situation with regard to his proposals for the reform of the one parent family payment system, particularly with a view to making it easier for lone parents to enter or re-enter the workforce; when he intends to bring forward formal proposals in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37205/05]

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 84: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if it is intended to discontinue the current one parent family payment in its present form; his proposals to replace same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37206/05]

John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 91: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the way in which he intends to remove the obstacles to employment, education and training for lone parents and the unemployed as part of the social reforms his Department is due to introduce; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37275/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 17, 18, 84 and 91 together.

The Government acknowledges that the risk of poverty tends to be higher among one parent families, larger families and those faced by long-term unemployment, due mainly to the direct costs of rearing children, including child care costs, and the opportunity costs related to the reduced earning capacity of parents, arising from their care responsibilities. This applies particularly to one parent families as the lone parent has to be the main breadwinner and carer at the same time.

It is generally accepted that for all people in working age households, the main route out of poverty is through employment. The national employment action plan is my Department's principal intervention measure to support and encourage unemployed people to progress towards employment. It is particularly focused on early intervention, with all those receiving unemployment payments for six months being referred to the national employment service, FÁS, for assessment of the progression path most suited to their needs. This early intervention helps prevent the drift into long-term unemployment. lone parents are not covered by the national employment action plan.

Employment participation among lone parents in this country is among the lowest in the OECD. This is despite the huge employment growth in recent years, increased female participation in the workforce and the income disregards afforded to lone parents who take up employment under my Department's one parent family payment.

Entitlement to payments under the current scheme is also contingent on the claimant not co-habiting with another adult. However, I am aware that reluctance on the part of some parents to forego the income security provided by the one parent family payment may act as a disincentive to the formation of partnerships and ultimately marriage for recipients. In addition, as one of the qualifying conditions for payment states that a parent must be the main carer of the child, I am also aware that the scheme as it currently operates may not sufficiently facilitate or promote joint parenting.

One of the key tasks in the Ending Child Poverty initiative under Sustaining Progress is to address obstacles to employment for lone parents. The senior officials group on social inclusion was mandated late last year to examine this issue and report back to the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion with specific proposals. A sub-group of the senior officials group has been examining obstacles to employment for lone parent families, with particular emphasis on income supports, employment, education, child care and support programmes and information.

We must also look closely at income supports and at how we can adjust those supports to better address the social problems that can arise for those who receive these payments. In this regard, a working group established in my Department to review the income support arrangements for lone parents, has looked at issues including the contingency basis of the one parent family payment, cohabitation, maintenance and secondary benefits. A consultation process with social partners and other interested parties was also undertaken to inform the work of the group. The Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion has been updated on the progress of both working groups and I will be bringing the final reports to Cabinet shortly.

It is my intention that the outcome of these reviews, together with initiatives already in place in my Department, will contribute to the ongoing development of proposals designed to better support and encourage both lone parents and those seeking work in achieving a better standard of living, employment and education opportunities, a better future for themselves and their children, and a more appropriate social policy in the future. The reforms that I am examining have at their core the ambition of improved opportunities and not short term revenue savings.