Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the family income supplement for working one parent families adversely affected by her budget cuts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39570/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Family Income Supplement (FIS) payment is designed to provide income for employees with families who are on low earnings. Expenditure on FIS for 2011 was of the order of €204 million in respect of some 29,000 families.

The payment preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he/she was unemployed and claiming other social welfare payments. To qualify for payment of FIS, a person must be engaged in insurable employment which is expected to last for at least 3 months and be working for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight or 19 hours per week. The applicant must also have at least one qualified child who normally resides with - or is in a family which is supported by - him/her. Furthermore, the average family income must be below a specified amount which varies according to the number of qualified children in the family.

An integral part of the FIS scheme is that once the level of payment is determined, it continues to be payable at that rate for a period of 52 weeks, provided that the person remains in full-time employment. The rate of payment may be increased if an additional child is born in the course of the 52 weeks. On the other hand, the rate of payment will not change if there is an increase or decrease in the recipient’s earnings. A key advantage of this approach, which is unique to the FIS scheme, is that claimants can be certain that they will receive a guaranteed level of income support throughout the period. This certainty is important to the success of the scheme as it provides a real incentive to workers with families to avail of employment opportunities.

However, once the 52 week period has expired, customers are invited to re-apply. If at that stage they continue to satisfy the basic qualifying conditions their up-to-date family income will be assessed for FIS purposes and a change in rate will be approved if appropriate. Accordingly where customers have had their overall family income reduced as a result of any reduction in One Parent Family Payment (OPFP) their FIS entitlement will be adjusted to reflect any income changes at this annual FIS review. I have no plans at present to change these arrangements.