Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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549. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the rate of severe material deprivation for lone parents here; the way in which this compares to the EU average; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53700/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The most recently available data on the severe material deprivation rate for lone parent households from Eurostat is for 2016 and shows the rate in Ireland was 23.2%. The 2016 EU average was 15.7%. The most recent national Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) data for 2017, released by the CSO this week, reflects this. The 2017 consistent poverty rate for households with one adult and children under 18 years of age is 20.7%, a reduction on the 2016 figure of 23.2% but still considerably above the national average.

However, macro-economic and labour market indicators have shown continued economic and employment growth in the last number of years. Unemployment has fallen from 6.8% in mid-2017 to 5.3% in November 2018. The number of people in receipt of working-age income and employment supports has also continued to fall. With the improvement in the fiscal situation, the Government was in a position to introduce a range of welfare increases from 2016 onwards. This includes a package of measures to support lone parents, encouraging them into the workplace and into education and helping to reduce their childcare costs. Budget 2019 increased the weekly rate by €5 for core welfare payments, including the One Parent Family Payment and the Jobseekers Transition Payment; increased the income disregards for both these payments to €150 per week and increased the qualified child rate with a higher rate introduced for children over 12 years of age. The Back to Work Family Dividend and the Working Family Payment also helps people with families who are entering into employment. In 2017, social transfers reduced the national at-risk-of-poverty rate from 32.3% to 15.7% after social transfers. This equates to a poverty reduction effect of 51% in 2017; ensuring Ireland remains one of the best performing EU countries in reducing poverty through social transfers.

The improvement in the economy, together with the welfare measures referred to, have contributed to the reduction in poverty levels that are evident in the recently released 2017 SILC data. As the economy continues to improve and families on low incomes experience the benefits of the welfare increases announced in Budget 2018 and Budget 2019, I expect to see further reductions in poverty levels, including those of lone parent families and improvements in living standards.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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550. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the data on in-work poverty here; the way in which this compares to the EU average; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53701/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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‘In-work poverty’ measures the at-risk-of-poverty rate (i.e. the percentage with incomes below 60% of the median income) among adults (16+) who are ‘in-work’, based on their self-defined principal economic status. The most recent CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions data from 2017, released this week, show the at-risk-of-poverty rate was 5.4% for those aged 16 years or over with a principal economic status of ‘at work’, a reduction on the 2016 figure of 5.8%. This is considerably lower than the 2017 national at-risk-of-poverty rate which was 15.7%, down from 16.2% in 2016. The most recent available data from Eurostat is from 2016 and shows an EU average 'in-work poverty' rate of 9.6%.

It should be noted that the SILC data from 2012 through to 2016 was revised by the CSO, resulting in some changes to previously published data. However the CSO has stated that the revised estimates are not statistically significantly different from the pre-revision estimates ().

Macro-economic and labour market indicators have shown continued economic and employment growth in the last number of years. Unemployment has fallen from 6.8% in mid-2017 to 5.3% in November 2018. The number of people in receipt of working-age income and employment supports has continued to fall. With these improvements, the Government was in a position to introduce a range of welfare increases from 2016 onwards. Measures include increases in core weekly rates for working-age adults, increases to the qualified child rate, income disregards for lone parents, the extension of the fuel allowance season and new initiatives to make work pay, such as the Back to Work Family Dividend. In 2017, social transfers reduced the national at-risk-of-poverty rate from 32.3% to 15.7% after social transfers. This equates to a poverty reduction effect of 51% in 2017; ensuring Ireland remains one of the best performing EU countries in reducing poverty through social transfers.

Income supports play an important role in addressing poverty. The Working Family Payment (WFP) (formerly known as Family Income Supplement) and the Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD) are important in-work supports for this group. The WFP is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. It is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependants and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment. The BTWFD is a targeted scheme designed to further improve the incentive to take-up employment or self-employment for welfare recipients with children.

The improvement in the economy, together with the welfare measures referred to, have contributed to the reduction in poverty levels that are evident in the recently released 2017 SILC data. As the economy continues to improve and as individuals and families on low incomes experience the benefits of the welfare increases announced in Budget 2018 and Budget 2019, I expect to see further reductions in poverty levels and improvements in living standards in 2019 and beyond.