Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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168. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason parents whose eligibility for one-parent family payment ceases due to their youngest child turning 16 are ineligible for the jobseeker's allowance transition payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48250/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The jobseeker's allowance (JA) transitional arrangement is available to lone parents who have previously been in receipt of the one-parent family payment (OFP) within the last three years, are parenting alone, are eligible for a JA payment and have a youngest child between 7 and 13 years of age, inclusive. Individuals who qualify for the JA transitional arrangement are exempt from having to be available for, and genuinely seeking, full-time employment and can avail of this arrangement until their youngest child reaches 14 years of age.

The JA transitional arrangement thus enables these parents to balance their caring responsibilities with work and significantly reduces their requirement for child care. It allows lone parents to work part-time without restrictions (e.g. mornings only) and still receive a JA payment – subject to a means test. They also have access to the ‘Intreo’ activation process and supports to enable them to become job-ready and/or find employment.

The exemptions from the full JA conditions remain in place until their youngest child reaches the age of 14 years, at which point, should they continue to claim the JA payment, they will be subjected to the scheme’s full conditionality.

The current cut off point for receipt of a payment under the JA transitional arrangement is the youngest child’s 14th birthday. The rationale for this age threshold is, in conjunction with the OFP scheme, to provide a tapered support to lone parents with young children - up to 14 years of age, while also maintaining the policy goal that they will not remain outside the labour market indefinitely. At 14 years of age the youngest child will be in secondary school and so the need for childcare will be substantially reduced in comparison with younger children.

There are no plans to change this at the present time.