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One-Parent Family Payment Eligibility

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 July 2014

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Ceisteanna (83)

Joe Higgins

Ceist:

83. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of people affected by the transition from the one-parent family payment; the progress she has made on the introduction of safe, affordable and accessible child care as was promised at the time the change in one parent family payment was announced in April 2012. [30936/14]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme supports 74,426 recipients at an estimated cost of €863 million in 2014.The reforms to the OFP scheme are reducing on a phased basis, the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which an OFP recipient’s payment ceases to 7 years from 2014 for new entrants and from 2015 for existing recipients. On 3 July, 2014, 5,140 customers saw their entitlement to the OFP payment cease as a result of these reforms. The majority of these customers have applied for the jobseeker’s allowance (JA) payment. Should any of these customers have a child under 14 years of age, they will be entitled to the JA transitional arrangement, which exempts them from having to be genuinely seeking, and available for, full-time employment. This exemption recognises the caring responsibilities of lone parents and will reduce their requirement for childcare.

Childcare is the responsibility of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (D/CYA). However, in Budget 2013, the then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and I announced an after-school child care (ASCC) initiative. The purpose of this scheme is to offset some of the after-school childcare costs that are associated with availing of an employment opportunity in a bid to encourage more individuals to take up employment. The scheme provides 800 subsidised after-school childcare places and is open to both jobseekers and OFP recipients.

In Budget 2014, the re-focusing of the original ASCC budget enabled Minister Fitzgerald and I to introduce the community employment (CE) childcare programme. This scheme was implemented in January and provides some 1,800 subsidised child care places to CE participants. These two schemes build on the existing supports provided by the D/CYA, through which subsidised childcare is provided to approximately 35,000 children of low-income parents.

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