Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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223. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to change the eligibility for family income supplement in order that persons working less than 19 hours per week can benefit from this payment, given that such a move would be of particular help to those transitioning from the one parent family payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28809/15]

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, July 2014 and July 2015, have resulted in an increase in lone parents applying for FIS. Approximately 1,600 new FIS applications have already been received from lone parents who were affected by the reforms on 2 July 2015. 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 transitional payment if their youngest child is under 14 years of age.

The Labour Market Council has established a sub-Group to 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 the FIS payment and, subsequently, for the newly introduced BTWFD dividend. In addition in cases where affected lone parents lose financially as a result of the reforms and are having difficulty increasing their hours, my Department will work with them to offer every possible assistance.

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.