Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 4 Mar 2003

Vol. 562 No. 4

Written Answers - Social Welfare Benefits.

Seán Crowe

Ceist:

434 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the anomaly where possibly hundreds of one parent families are being left worse off as a result of the ?10 increase for participants in FÁS programmes who now face disqualification from the one parent family scheme operated by her Department; the number of families affected by this development; and the steps she proposes to take to amend this particular crisis for many affected families. [6221/03]

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Mary Coughlan)

The job initiative programme is one of a number of FÁS schemes in which lone parents may participate. Full-time employment is provided in the social economy for individuals who are over 35 and fulfil certain criteria under the programme. Lone parents qualify for the programme if they have been in receipt of one-parent family payment, unemployment assistance or unemployment benefit, or a combination of these schemes, for a minimum of five years. Significant earnings disregards are built into the one-parent allowance scheme to encourage lone parents who wish to take up work. No similar disregards are applicable in other means tested schemes.

Lone parents are also eligible for the full range of employment support schemes operated by my Department. The operation of the earnings disregard means that a lone parent may earn up to €293 per week and still retain an entitlement to some level of lone parent payment. Arrangements are in place thereafter whereby a lone parent who exceeds the earnings threshold may retain 50% of the payment they had been receiving for a further 12 months. The purpose of these arrangements is to provide a manageable transition from welfare dependency to employment. It appears that 410 recipients of the one-parent family payment are on the job initiative programme and, of these, 395 will benefit from the transitional arrangements available under the one-parent family payment scheme. The effects on lone parents of the increase in the job initiative payment are being examined. Any decision in relation to changing the one-parent family payment would have to have regard to the overall policy objective, which is to support and facilitate lone parents in taking up employment, thereby improving the financial position of them and their children.