The number of OFP recipients stood at 77,209 in May, 2014, and an estimated €863 million is due to be spent on the scheme in 2014. The Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2012, contains provisions to reduce, on a phased basis, the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which an OFP recipient's payment ceases to seven years from 2014 for new entrants and from 2015 for existing recipients. The next phase of the OFP scheme reform process will commence on 3 July 2014, when approximately 5,140 customers will see their entitlement to the OFP payment cease. All affected customers have been invited by the Department to attend information sessions where they have been briefed on the broad range of Departmental supports that are available to them once they exit the OFP scheme.
Special arrangements have been introduced to ease affected lone parents make their transition to another of the Department’s income support payments. These arrangements include the following;
- Affected OFP customers, who are also in receipt of the family income supplement (FIS), will have their FIS payment automatically adjusted to compensate for 60% of the loss of their OFP payment;
- Affected OFP customers, who are also in receipt of the half-rate carer’s allowance, will have their carer’s allowance claim re-rated to a full-rate carer’s allowance upon their loss of OFP;
- Applications from affected OFP customers for other social welfare payments including jobseeker’s allowance (JA) are being expedited; and
- The introduction of the JA transitional arrangement, which exempts former OFP recipients who have a youngest child aged under 14 years from having to satisfy the JA scheme conditions of being available for, and genuine seeking, full-time work. This arrangement allows previous OFP recipients with young children to balance their caring responsibilities and significantly reduces their requirement for childcare.