Legislative changes were introduced to the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) in the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2010. These came into effect on 27 April, 2011. The former OFP scheme provided long-term income support to lone parents until their youngest child was aged 18, or 22 if in full-time education, without any requirement for them to engage in education, training or employment. Such long-term welfare dependency and passive income support to individuals of working age are not considered to be in the best interests of the recipient, their children or society.
The reform of the OFP scheme puts in place a model that:
prevents long-term dependence on social welfare support and facilitates independence among parents;
recognises parental choice with regard to the care of young children, but with the expectation that parents will not remain outside of the labour force indefinitely, and
includes an expectation of participation in education, training and employment initiatives, with the appropriate social welfare supports provided in this regard.
The changes made to the scheme also bring Ireland's support for lone parents more in line with international provisions — where there is a general movement away from long-term and passive income support.
Under the reformed scheme, for new customers:
payment is made until the youngest child reaches the age of 14;
there is a special provision to allow for the continuation of the payment for lone parents who are in receipt of the Domiciliary Care Allowance, payable until the child reaches the age of 16, and
there is a special provision for those who are recently bereaved (married, cohabiting, in a civil partnership), with no children under the age of 14, to claim the OFP for a period of up to 2 years from the date of death of their spouse/partner/cohabitant, or until their youngest child reaches the age of 18.
New customers will be written to when their youngest child reaches the age of 11 and informed of the educational, training and back-to-work opportunities available to them.
When the youngest child reaches the age of 14, a lone parent, if still in need of income support, can claim Jobseeker's Allowance or Benefit and receive the activation supports attached to that payment. These lone parents will be profiled in the future as the profiling of jobseekers is rolled out nationally. This will enable supports to be more effectively targeted to meet individual customer needs, with a case management approach being adopted in supporting them back to education, training and employment. Lone parents who are in low-paid employment of 19 hours or more per week, and earning below the relevant income threshold, they can claim the Family Income Supplement.
Under the reformed scheme, for existing customers, there will be no change to the payment in 2011 or 2012. The age limit for the receipt of the payment will, from 2013 onward, be reduced on a yearly basis — from the age of 17 that year to 16 in 2014, to 15 in 2015 and to 14 in 2016.
It is planned, over time and as resources permit, to provide more structured interventions from the Department/FÁS to support lone parents into education, training and employment from the claim-award stage.
