Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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127. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for an overview of his Budget 2026 measures to support one-parent families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62068/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Budget 2026 included a range of measures that will benefit lone parents, such as:

• A €10 per week increase to the personal rate of the One-Parent Family Payment and Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment. The increases will directly benefit some 113,000 children whose parents are in receipt of these payments.
• The largest ever increase in the Child Support Payment, which increased by €8 for children aged under 12, (a 16% increase), and €16 for children aged over 12 (a 26% increase). This change will bring the rate of the Child Support Payment to €58 for children aged under 12 and €78 for children aged over 12. Child Support Payment is payable with most primary payments, including One Parent Family Payment and Jobseeker's Transitional Payment.
• Expansion of the Back-To-School Clothing and Footwear Payment, to 2 and 3 year olds.
• A €60 increase to the Working Family Payment income thresholds. Almost two thirds of recipients of this payment are lone parent households.
• Eligibility for the Fuel Allowance is to be expanded to those in receipt of the Working Family Payment (to be implemented from March 2026, payments will be backdated to January 2026).
• The Fuel Allowance payment is to increase by €5 per week (an increase of more than 15%) to €38 per week. This increase will provide recipients with an additional €140 during the annual fuel allowance season.
• Christmas Bonus will be paid in December 2025, to almost 1.5 million customers, including those in receipt of the One Parent Family Payment and Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment.
• Other measures introduced, for example, with regards to caring and disability supports will also benefit lone parents, depending on individual family circumstances.