Vol. 441 No. 8
17 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Social Welfare his response to the National Youth Federation study, Teen Parenting in Ireland, presented to him on 5 March 1994; if he intends to implement any of the recommendations made in the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
33 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to the findings of the ESRI Report, Lone Parents in the Republic of Ireland and, particularly, to the findings that the social welfare system is structured in such a way as to keep lone parents out of the labour market; if he will consider introducing some degree of flexibility in the social welfare code so as to allow lone parents to undertake paid work without totally losing their benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 33 together.
I welcome the recent ESRI report on lone parents and also the study Teen Parenting in Ireland by the National Youth Federation. The contents of these reports are being considered within my Department.
I want to outline some of the ways in which my Department is encouraging lone parents to take up work, training and study opportunities. A lone parent can take up employment and still qualify for the lone parent's allowance. The rules in relation to the means test at present allow for a disregard of earnings amounting to £6 per week, increased by a further £6 per week for each dependent child. This year, to improve the position for lone parents who want to take up work the means test is being eased. I am replacing the current earnings disregard of £6 for each child with a flat-rate disregard of £30 and, where earnings exceed the new disregards, the amount of lone parents allowance payable will be reduced by £1 for every £2 earned, instead of the £1 for £1 arrangements currently applied. These new arrangements will come into effect on 21 July next.
Child-minding expenses arising from work are also disregarded when assessing means.
Lone parents can also avail of the family income supplement scheme, subject to satisfying the qualifying criteria. The FIS scheme provides weekly cash support to families with children on low wages.
We have also included lone parents in the back-to-work allowance scheme whereby they can receive 75 per cent of their weekly payment for 12 months while they take up work, and 50 per cent in the second year, and retain their extra benefits.
From September of last year the Government extended the vocational training opportunities scheme to allow lone parents to participate while retaining all their benefits. I have also extended the third-level education scheme to eligible lone parents and any higher education grants payable are disregarded in assessing means. In addition, we have introduced a scheme of grants for projects to assist lone parents to return to second chance education or to the workforce. These represent positive measures in terms of affording lone parents who are seeking employment, a better opportunity of participating in the labour market.
That is an impressive list of what the Minister is doing. While welcoming the steps taken thus far, why is there a distinction being drawn between one lone parent and another? I refer specifically to the community employment programme under which unmarried mothers are being treated as lone parents but deserted wives in receipt of disability benefit are refused an opportunity to participate. Would he agree that this is undermining his work to assist lone parents have a life outside of the home? Has he investigated the claim by the National Youth Federation in their report in March that some lone parents were being advised by housing authority officials to have more babies in order to qualify for housing? Were those claims accurate and, if so, what steps are being taken to deal with them?
Is the Minister taking up the suggestion in the National Youth Federation's report that there is a need for family centres and community child care workers to facilitate lone parents taking up training opportunities and working either in the community or outside it?
The scheme in relation to child care workers is being encouraged and we have grant aided local projects. The women's groups are doing a certain amount of that work. The respite care groups have been directing their funds to training of the kind mentioned by the Deputy. I realise the need for such a development and it is something we will encourage in the areas in which we are involved. I understand that FÁS is examining the position in relation to deserted wives on disability benefit but I will raise the matter with it.
I appreciate the Minister taking this question on board. Many women, who have already lost positions as a result of being told they were ineligible because they were on disability or deserted wife's benefit, have been in contact with me. When raising this matter with FÁS — and assuming that this disgraceful decision will be reversed — will the Minister ask for the allocation of places to women who have been disqualified recently under the new scheme?
Ultimately, this is a question for FÁS and the Department of Enterprise and Employment.
It is undermining the Minister's work.
We have to relate to that situation and that is the reason I said I would raise the matter with FÁS.
The Minister is being undermined by other schemes in operation. Will he clarify the position in relation to the secondary benefits to which participants in the community development programmes are entitled? Health boards are refusing those secondary benefits. Will he investigate the position where some health boards are forcing people who are already receiving disabled person's maintenance allowance on to lone parent's allowance? Perhaps there could be a greater link between his Department and the health boards who administer some of the schemes.
A separate question has been tabled on that issue today. Secondary benefits have been extended to all community employment schemes. There has been a question mark at health board level about supplementary welfare——
For First Communion and Confirmation clothing.
No, that is a different question. In relation to that question, in the normal way people would be eligible. However, decisions in any of those cases would be individual and would come under the exceptional needs payments. People are eligible for supplementary welfare payments depending on the decisions made in their particular case; in other words they are not across the board schemes. All the schemes that apply across the board have been extended.
If people had remained on unemployment assistance they would have got the payments but because they went on schemes they were denied payments. Even Fianna Fáil councillors are raising that issue.
One would have to take individual cases. From our point of view there is no rule excluding them. As far as exceptional needs payments are concerned, cases would be determined on an individual basis as in the past.
Question No. 18, please.
Deputy De Rossa rose.
I must move on to facilitate other Deputies.
