Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2017
742. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the steps available to her to address issues of one-parent families that have experienced a reduction in their income from the one parent family allowance notwithstanding the various alternatives on offer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39891/17]
View answerMy Department currently provides a number of income supports to lone parents. These include the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) until the youngest child is 7 years of age and the Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment (JST) payment where the youngest child is aged 7-13 years. The Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) payment can also be paid to lone parents where the youngest child is aged 14 or over. The Family Income Supplement (FIS) is also available to lone parents who are working 19 or more hours per week. Lone parents who move to FIS can also apply for the Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD).
In most cases entitlement to the OFP payment ends when the youngest child reaches 7 years of age, however, there are special provisions for those caring, in receipt of Blind Pension or recently bereaved that extend the age of the youngest child beyond 7 years of age. The majority of customers transition from OFP to the JST, FIS or JA schemes when their OFP entitlement ends.
Lone parents who are not working outside the home can transition to JST when their OFP ends. These customers do not suffer an income loss when they move to JST as JST is paid at the same rate as OFP. Budget 2016 aligned the JST means test more closely with the OFP means test resulting in a more generous means test for JST customers. Budget 2017 also increased the income disregards on OFP and JST to €110 per week. This in effect means that lone parents who are working and earning less than €110 per week see no change in their welfare payment when they move from OFP to JST. Those earning over €110 per week may lose a maximum of up to €7.60 per week. This is due to the banded rates for OFP compared to JST.
Lone parents who transition to FIS may suffer an income loss however, they also gain access to the BTWFD. It is important to note that lone parents on FIS have been lifted out of poverty due to a combination of earnings and the FIS supports. It is not possible for a lone parent to be in receipt of FIS and be within the definition of consistent poverty. Lone parents who increase their hours of work and become new FIS recipients will see an increase in their overall income.
Budgets 2015, 2016 and 2017 have all included measures that benefitted lone parents. The Department’s social impact assessment of the impact of Budget 2017 showed an increase of 1.2%, equating to just over €8 per week for working lone parents, and 4.5% equating to just over €16 per week for those who are not working. This represents a cumulative increase across Budgets 2015, 2016 and 2017 of almost €27 per week for working lone parents and just over €24 per week for lone parents who are not working. This shows definite progress with the commitment to reducing poverty for lone parents and their families.
In addition to these income supports lone parents also have access to the Department’s Intreo service and the associated training, education and employment supports to assist them towards employment and financial independence. All JST recipients receive a one to one meeting with a case officer from the Department who assists them to produce a personal development plan and guides them towards appropriate education, and employment opportunities. While the customer is on the JST payment access to these supports are potentially available for up to seven years. This is a much broader support than the 12 month engagement that normally applies for jobseekers from their one to one meeting. The aim of this broader support is to improve the individual’s employment prospects. Lone parents on a JA payment also gain access to the full range of Intreo supports available to assist them into training, education and employment.
The income and activation supports outlined above combine to ensure that there are effective resources available to lone parents.
