Brendan Griffin
Question:47. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on a matter (details supplied) regarding lone parent cuts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3138/15]
View answerThursday, 22 January 2015
Questions (47)
Written answers
As of the end of December, 2014, there were 69,884 recipients of the one-parent family payment (OFP). Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure this year on the OFP scheme of approximately €607 million.
The purpose of the phased OFP scheme age change reforms that were introduced in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2012, is to reduce long-term social welfare dependency by ending the expectation that lone parents will remain outside of the workforce indefinitely. These reforms aim to provide the necessary supports to lone parents to help them to access the Department’s range of education, training, and employment programmes, to develop their skills set and, ultimately, to secure employment and financial independence.
The final phase of the OFP scheme age change reforms will be taking place on 2 July, 2015, when the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which an OFP recipient’s payment ceases will be reduced to 7 years for all recipients. It is anticipated that approximately 30,200 OFP recipients will transition out of the OFP scheme on that day.
When introducing the OFP scheme age change reforms, a special provision was included for recipients who are claiming the domiciliary care allowance (DCA) payment for a disabled child aged under 16 years. The half-rate carer’s allowance (CA) is only payable for children aged under 16 years where the DCA is also in payment.
In these circumstances, the OFP payment is extended beyond the maximum age limit of the scheme and paid until the child for whom the DCA is in payment reaches the age of 16 years. This special provision ensures that OFP recipients who care for a disabled child will continue to receive support until that child reaches the age of 16 years and can apply for the disability allowance (DA) in their own right.
As a result of this special provision, 1,650 lone parents will continue to receive both the OFP payment and half-rate CA and will not be affected by the OFP scheme age change reforms on 2 July, 2015.
Approximately 800 other customers who are claiming both the OFP and half-rate CA payments are caring for another person (i.e. an adult or a child aged 16 years or over) and, as such, are not in receipt of the DCA payment. These customers will transition out of the OFP scheme on 2 July, 2015, and will have their CA claim automatically assessed and re-rated to a full-rate CA payment of €204 per week and €29.80 per week for each qualified child. The income loss occurs as these lone parents are moving from one-and-a-half payments to a single full-rate CA payment. This is the most advantageous option that is available to these lone parents. These individuals will retain their existing secondary benefits such as the respite care grant, the household benefit package, and free travel.
Historically, the transition of recipients from the OFP scheme to the CA scheme has always occurred in this manner, with concurrent OFP and half-rate CA entitlement being replaced with full-rate CA entitlement once the maximum age limit of the youngest child is reached. There are no plans to review the current OFP reform process.
Question No. 48 withdrawn.