Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 December 2012
303. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to proceed with changes to eligibility to the lone parents payment in view of the fact that the Scandinavian model of child care is not in place here. [54075/12]
View answerThe changes to the structure of the one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme and to the age of the youngest child at which the payment ceases are contained in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012, which was enacted on 1 May 2012. These changes are being brought in over time between now and 2015.
An Inter-Departmental Group (IDG) on School-Age Child Care has been established to define the best model for the provision of school-age child care to meet the needs of the customers of the Department, including those of lone parents. The model will seek to address the child care requirements of children aged between 7 and 12 years (inclusive) both during the school term and the school holidays.
Extensive work has been completed by the Group to quantify the level of school-age child care that is required to support the relevant social welfare income support recipients, in particular lone parents, for each year up to and including 2015. An examination has also been carried out of existing child care schemes and of the capital investments already made by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in this sector. Based on these findings the IDG are engaged in detailed discussions to define an effective school-age childcare model and to determine the level of funding required. Once completed, the proposals will be submitted to Government for their consideration.
