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Economic and Social Research Institute

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 February 2018

Tuesday, 20 February 2018

Ceisteanna (48)

Bríd Smith

Ceist:

48. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the measures she plans to take on foot of the recent ERSI report which shows increased poverty among lone parents and those with disabilities. [8438/18]

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Freagraí scríofa

The research report referred to is “Poverty Dynamics of Social Risk Groups in the EU” produced by the ESRI, funded by my Department and published last month. It analysed the significance of different systems of welfare regimes and their effectiveness in protecting vulnerable groups in eleven EU countries, including Ireland, over a 10 year period. That ten year period was from 2004 to 2014, and so it covered the end of the boom period, the recession and the start of the recovery. The report showed that, across the eleven countries, lone parents and their families and working-age adults with a disability and their families are more at risk of material deprivation and income poverty than other groups. Given the sustained economic recovery since 2014, and with unemployment down from 11.3% in 2014 to 6.2% at present, I expect that the CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions data for 2017 will continue the recent trend of reductions in poverty for all sectors of society. But it remains the case that lone parent households and those of working people with a disability continue to experience deprivation and consistent poverty rates which are higher than those of the general population and we cannot contemplate any reduction in our commitment to support those most in need.

My Department, as well as providing income supports to people with disabilities, offers a range of employment support programmes, including the wage subsidy scheme and the EmployAbility service as well as the partial capacity benefit scheme. The Intreo service is also available to provide employment support services for people with disabilities who wish to engage with the service on a voluntary basis. This year expenditure on these programmes will amount to some €50 million. Last September, the Ability programme, supported by the European Social Fund was launched. This is a new pre-activation programme which recognises the critical importance of engaging with young people with disabilities at a time when their disability threatens to keep them out of the workforce.

It is accepted that for lone parents, the best way to tackle poverty is through employment. The recently published Indecon report echoed this view and found that the changes to the one-parent family payment scheme made over the last number of years increased employment and reduced welfare dependency. It also found that the changes increased the probability of employment and higher employment income for lone parents. The report concluded that assisting lone parents to enhance skills also needs to be seen as a key objective as low paid employment will not, on its own, ensure a reduction in the risk of poverty.

The Budget 2018 measures - increases in the income disregard, the primary rate and the increase for qualified child rate – come into effect next month. The effect of these measures will see a lone parent on the one-parent family payment or jobseeker’s transitional payment, who is working 15 hours a week on the National Minimum Wage, being better off by nearly €1,000 per year.

I should mention finally that my Department is currently developing the new National Action Plan for Social Inclusion. Like its predecessor, it will have a ‘whole of Government’ approach that will aim to improve outcomes for the vulnerable and marginalised in our society.

Question No. 49 answered orally.
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