Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 May 2022
311. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has considered making lone parent family payments available in respect of the guardianship of foster children; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that lone parents cannot avail of those supports such as the one parent family payment and the jobseeker’s transitional payment for the children they are fostering; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22058/22]
View answer318. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the processes that are in place to support lone parents who are foster parents (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22123/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 311 and 318 together.
Under current social welfare legislation in order to be eligible for the One Parent Family Payment (OFP) an applicant must be a qualified parent, as outlined in Section 172 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, of at least one child under the age of 7, who is ordinarily resident in the State. The eligibility criteria for the Jobseeker Transitional (JST) scheme are the same as the OFP scheme except that the client must be a qualified parent of at least one child aged between 7 and 13 years (inclusive). Section 148A 2(a) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 outlines the definition of qualified parent for the JST scheme. Additional scheme conditions such as a means test, and absence of cohabitation also apply to both schemes.
A qualified parent for the purposes of the OFP and JST schemes includes:
1. a widow,
2. a widower,
3. a separated spouse,
4. an unmarried person,
5. a person whose spouse or civil partner has been committed in custody to a prison or place of detention for not less than 6 months, or
6. a surviving civil partner,
7. a civil partner who is not living with the other civil partner of the civil partnership, or
8. a person who is not a party to a civil partnership
who is the parent, step-parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian of at least one relevant child, who normally resides with that person.
Therefore, to be a qualified parent the applicant must legally be defined as either the parent or legal guardian of the relevant child. A foster carer is not the parent or legal guardian of the foster child, as required by the governing legislation for OFP and JST. Therefore, for the purposes of the OFP and JST schemes the foster parent is not a qualified parent and cannot currently qualify for OFP or JST with the foster child as the relevant child.
The provision of fostering services is a matter for Tusla (the Child and Family Agency). This includes any supports, including financial, that are required by either the foster carers or the foster child. Tusla provides a Foster Care Allowance in respect of each child in foster care. The payment is made to provide for the needs of the child. The weekly Foster Care Allowance is currently €325 per child under 12, and €352 for children aged 12 and over. Foster care allowances from Tusla are not taken into account in the means test for social welfare payments and are not taxable.
In addition to the Foster Care Allowance, there are other income supports currently available to a foster parent(s):
Child Benefit - Where a child has been placed in foster care by Tusla and the child has been in the continuous care of the foster carer(s) for 6 months, Child Benefit may then transfer to the foster carer(s).
Increases for Qualified Child (IQC) on Primary Social Welfare Payments - A foster parent who is in receipt of a primary social welfare payment (such as jobseeker’s allowance) can receive an increase for a qualified child in respect of a foster child (as long as no other person is in receipt of an IQC in respect of the same child).
Working Family Payment - The Working Family Payment is paid to low-income families according to the number of children in the family. As outlined above, a child in foster care can be a qualified child for social welfare schemes. As the Working Family Payment definition of a child is based on the definition of qualified child, a foster parent with only foster children can qualify for the working family payment (subject to meeting all of the other qualifying conditions).
Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD) - The Back to Work Family Dividend legislation uses the qualified child definition in its eligibility rules. Therefore, if a foster parent moved off Jobseeker's Allowance and had been in receipt of an IQC for their foster child they would be entitled to the BTWFD on the same basis as others.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
