Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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60. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide clarity on the financial and community child care supports available on the transitionary path to employment from the one-parent family payment, for parents of children over seven, and, in particular, how it is proposed for transition to employment to be determined by free choice, rather than by economic necessity; the way the changes are to be implemented within the framework of the archaic though legally binding provisions of Article 41.2.2 of the Constitution; the financial safeguards and public communications processes that are in place to ensure that women could not in any circumstance face a situation of feeling compelled to have additional pregnancies to maintain welfare, supports out of a perception of financial necessity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27941/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Child care is recognised as an issue for all working parents including lone parents.

Child care policy, including the delivery and/or expansion of childcare services, is the responsibility of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Individuals can avail if required of the subsidised childcare supports provided by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. That Department currently subsidises approximately 100,000 childcare places, 25,000 of which are specifically for low income parents. This provision includes full time and after-school places as well as child care places specifically to enable parents’ avail of full time education and training courses.

In order to assist lone parents to move into the workforce, the Department introduced, in partnership with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the after school childcare scheme in 2013. This scheme supports persons who are unemployed as well as customers who transition out of the one-parent family payment scheme. It applies to persons who take up a work position, who increase their days of employment, or who take up a place on a Departmental employment programme. The scheme provides up to 500 subsidised child care places both after-school places and after-school with pick-up service places.

The community employment childcare programme was introduced in 2014 and provides subsidised part-time and after-school child care places for children up to the age of 13 years to Community Employment participants, including to lone parents. The community employment childcare scheme has an annual budget of €7.5 million to provide 2,000 child care places.

In recognition of the caring responsibilities that lone parents with young children have, the Government introduced in June 2013 the jobseeker’s transitional payment. This is available to lone parents who transition from the one-parent family payment onto a jobseeker’s allowance payment and who have a youngest child aged under 14 years of age. These customers are exempt from the jobseeker’s allowance conditions that require them to be available for, and genuinely seeking full-time employment. In effect this ensures that no lone parent with a child under the age of 14 is required to take up employment in order to receive an income support payment from the State. Recipients of this payment can choose to work part-time, if they so wish, and still receive the jobseeker’s transitional payment. This work can be of any pattern e.g. mornings only when their children are in school. The Jobseeker’s transitional payment allows this cohort of customers to balance their caring responsibilities and significantly reduces their requirement for child care.

These customers will also receive a one to one meeting with a case officer from the Department who will assist them to produce a personal development plan and guide them towards appropriate education, training and employment opportunities. While the customer is on the jobseeker’s transitional payment this support is available and is not limited to the 12 month engagement that applies for other jobseekers from their one to one meeting.

One-parent family payment recipients who lose their entitlement to the one-parent family payment, and who have a youngest child aged 14 years or over, can apply for the jobseeker’s allowance payment, where they will be subject to the same conditionality as any other recipient of the jobseeker’s allowance payment and will receive the same activation supports as all other jobseekers.