Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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39. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of families that will be impacted by the change in the one-parent family payment, due to take place fully this summer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17331/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Almost 70,000 lone parents are currently supported by the one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme at an estimated cost of approximately €607 million in 2015. Yet despite significant levels of investment lone parents are still significantly more at risk of consistent poverty compared to the population as a whole.

The purpose of the phased OFP scheme age change reforms that were introduced in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2012, is to reduce long-term social welfare dependency and poverty among lone parents and to ensure that they have improved access to the Department's range of education, training, and employment support programmes to assist them in securing employment.

The final phase of the OFP scheme age change reforms will take place on 2 July, 2015, when the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which an OFP recipient's payment ceases will be reduced to 7 years for all recipients.

Approximately 29,400 OFP recipients will transition from the scheme on that day. These customers will be supported by the Department to transition to an alternative income support payment – as appropriate. It is estimated that 19,800 customers will move to the Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) transitional arrangement, 4,100 to the JA scheme, and 5,500 to the Family Income Supplement (FIS) scheme. Those moving to FIS will also qualify for the Back to Work Family Dividend.