Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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39. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will ensure that mothers who are losing their one-parent family payment when their child turns seven and who work less than 19 hours a week will be eligible for family income support in view of the fact that this has the effect of pushing mothers who have limited daily part-time work out of the work that they have; and if she will apply family income support in a proportionate fashion. [13939/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The family income supplement (FIS) is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. FIS is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependants and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment. There are in the region of 50,000 families in receipt of FIS, an increase of 70 per cent since 2011. The average FIS payment per family is €114 per week.

To qualify for FIS, a person must be engaged in full-time 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 them or is supported by them. Furthermore, the average family income must be below a specified amount which varies according to the number of qualified children in the family.

Reforms to the one-parent family payment (OFP) which were implemented in a phased basis in July 2013 and July 2014, have resulted in an increase in lone parents applying for FIS. This is evidence that lone parents whose entitlement to OFP ceased on foot of the age reforms have over the previous two years increased their working hours in order to claim FIS. Where lone parents are working less than 38 hours per fortnight they may qualify for a jobseeker's payment including the jobseeker's allowance transitional arrangement if their youngest child is under 14 years of age.

The Labour Market Council is in the process of establishing a sub-group that will specifically examine the issue of how employers nationwide can assist transitioning OFP customers with increasing their hours of work in order to enable them to qualify for FIS and, subsequently, the BWFD. This sub-group will also look at ways in which employers can assist with the promotion of the BWFD.

The previous experience of the OFP reform, together with the introduction of the BWFD and the initiative of the Labour Market Council, would indicate that lone parents will have both the incentive and the opportunity to increase their hours of work, and thus to become eligible for FIS, thereby greatly enhancing their income and living conditions.