Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 24 May 2001

Vol. 537 No. 1

Written Answers. - Family Support Services.

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

The National Economic and Social Forum, NESF, held a plenary session on Monday, 14 May 2001 to discuss the draft report of its project team on lone parents. There is nothing in the draft report to support recent media reports that the risk of poverty for lone parents has increased sixfold since 1981. The data in the report indicate that the poverty risk for lone parent families, that is, the numbers who fall below the 50% income poverty line, increased from 17% in 1987 to 29% in 1994. Recent data indicate that it has remained at that level in 1997. That said, lone parents remain one of the groups in society who are most at risk of poverty. Accordingly, a range of measures has been introduced to improve the overall incomes of lone parents and to deal with their training and education needs.

The family services project is being piloted in three local offices of my Department – Cork, covering the Togher and Mahon areas, Finglas in Dublin and Waterford city. The pilot project is part of the Government's families first approach for which some £12 million has been provided for the development of services to my Department this year.

The objective of the family services project is to provide a high quality information service about the range of supports available to families from State agencies and from the community and voluntary sector with a particular emphasis on the services available locally. Within the project an enhanced programme of support is available to a small group of customers with complex needs. The additional support involves individual attention, customised information and access to services and supports which would assist the family to improve their personal circumstances. The focus in the project is on young lone mothers, parents rearing children without the support of a partner and other families in households depending on social welfare payments. To date, the family services project has been well received and is proving to be an effective support for customers and their families. The Government has provided £12 million in the national development plan for the progressive expansion of the successful elements of the pilot programme over the period to 2006.

In line with Government commitments to make families central to policy making and to tackle poverty, real and very substantial improvements have been made in income support provision for families depending on social welfare payments, and for those at work on low pay.

Next month will see the start of radical child benefit increases of £25 per month for the first and second child and £30 per month for third and subsequent children amounting to some £330 million in a full year and £1 billion over the next three years. A range of initiatives have been introduced specifically to assist lone parents in accessing education, training and other supports and assist them in their efforts to find a place in the jobs market. It is my intention to continue to introduce measures to improve the position of lone parents and other families relying on social welfare in line with the Government's commitments to develop coherent, progressive and effective policies for families as promised in the Action Programme for the Millennium.