Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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228. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has undertaken any impact analysis studies on the effect on children of the cut to the lone parent allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2179/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Social impact assessment is an evidence-based methodology to estimate the likely distributive effects of policy proposals on poverty and social inequality, including impacts on family types, lifestyle groups, and gender.

The Department of Social Protection has published an integrated social impact assessment of Budgets 2013, 2014 and earlier this week of Budget 2015, using the ESRI SWITCH model. The Department’s social impact assessments include the main social welfare and tax measures including the ongoing changes to the one-parent family payment. In addition, the 2015 analysis takes into account the Government’s decisions in relation to water charges and affordability measures.

Furthermore, the Government has committed itself to carrying out a social impact assessment of the main social welfare and tax measures for 2016 and subsequent years before the publishing of budgets. The social impact assessment will be conducted by a cross-Departmental body led by the Departments of Finance, Social Protection, and Public Expenditure and Reform.