Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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128. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which he monitors the situation in regard to lone parents with a view to ascertaining the availability to them of adequate resources to meet their commitments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18883/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My Department monitors on an ongoing basis all social welfare income support schemes including the one-parent family payment scheme (OFP).

The majority of customers affected by the reforms to the OFP scheme transitioned to the jobseeker's transitional payment (JST). My Department, at the request of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, intend to carry out a review of the JST scheme and this is due to be completed during 2017.

It is important to note that my Department provides a number of income supports to lone parents. These include the OFP scheme until the youngest child is 7, the JST payment where the youngest child is aged 7-13 years, Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) where the youngest child is 14 or over and the Family Income Supplement (FIS). FIS can also be paid concurrently with OFP. Both the OFP and JST means tests are more generous than that of JA, thereby supporting lone parents to take up employment, which is their best route out of poverty.

Lone parents on a jobseeker's payment also gain access to the full range of Intreo supports available to assist them into training, education and employment. Those on JST receive a more intensive support via a one to one meeting with a case officer followed by an engagement of up to 7 years while the customer is on JST. Those on JA receive the standard activation process for jobseekers commencing with a group engagement meeting.

These income and activation supports combined ensure that there are effective resources available to lone parents.

Budget 2016 saw OFP recipients gain a 75% Christmas bonus, a €5 increase in Child Benefit and an increase of €2.50 per week in fuel allowance. Those in receipt of FIS also benefitted from the increases to the FIS thresholds. Lone parents on jobseeker's transitional payment (JST) also gained as a result of the closer alignment of the JST means test with the more generous OFP means test.

My Department published a social impact assessment of the main social welfare and tax measures of Budget 2015 and 2016. The assessment found that the cumulative impact of these budgets on lone parent households fared above that of the average household. The assessment indicated that average income in households where the lone parent is employed will rise by 2.8 per cent, while that of unemployed lone parents will rise by 2.4 per cent.