Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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83. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in 2016 of allowing lone parents to receive the one parent family payment; in the case of lone parents with children aged eight and under; nine and under; ten and under; 11 and under; 12 and under; 13 and under; 14 and under; and the estimated full year cost of each change. [32698/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Given the complex and detailed nature of the Deputy’s request it is not possible for the Department in the timeframe available to calculate the estimated full year cost of increasing the maximum child age of the one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme from its current threshold of seven years to, respectively, eight years, nine years, ten years, eleven years, thirteen years, and fourteen years.

The Department has however, recently calculated that the full-year cost, in 2016, of increasing the OFP scheme maximum child age threshold from seven years to twelve years would be approximately €23.5 million. It should be noted that this figure includes a reduction in expenditure on the back to work family dividend scheme. This arises as lone parents currently in receipt of the dividend would no longer be entitled to that payment were they to requalify for the OFP scheme.