Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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33. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will reverse the conditionalities introduced regarding working lone parents that have resulted in an up to 18% cut in their weekly income. [28783/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The most recent Survey on Income and Living Conditions relates to 2014. In 2014, lone parents were two-and-a-half times more at risk of poverty than the rest of the population. However, in 2004, during the economic boom, lone parents were over four-and-a-half times more at risk of poverty than the rest of the population. These figures are of course not acceptable but they show the long standing problem we have of lone parents being in poverty.

Research shows that being at work reduces the at-risk-of-poverty rate for lone parents by three-quarters, compared to those who do not work, highlighting that the best way to tackle poverty among lone parents is to assist them into employment.

Access to my Department’s Intreo service is critical to achieve this outcome. Any reversal of these reforms would delay access to this essential service and would be a retrograde step in terms of tackling poverty among lone parents.

The positive outcome of the reforms can be seen from the increase in the number of lone parents becoming new family income supplement recipients. Of the lone parents affected by the reforms since July 2015, more than 3,000 became new family income supplement recipients by the end of 2015. This indicates that these customers entered or increased their employment. These customers are also eligible for the Back to Work Family Dividend. There are currently over 7,100lone parents in receipt of the Back to Work Family Dividend.

It is also important to highlight that the social impact assessment of Budget 2016 showed that the measures contained in the Budget increased average household incomes by 1.6%. This analysis showed that incomes for non-working lone parents increased above average, gaining 1.8% and working lone parents gained the most with their average incomes gaining by 2%.

As such, I have no plans to reverse the change in conditions the Deputy refers to.