Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 December 2018
549. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the rate of severe material deprivation for lone parents here; the way in which this compares to the EU average; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53700/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe most recently available data on the severe material deprivation rate for lone parent households from Eurostat is for 2016 and shows the rate in Ireland was 23.2%. The 2016 EU average was 15.7%. The most recent national Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) data for 2017, released by the CSO this week, reflects this. The 2017 consistent poverty rate for households with one adult and children under 18 years of age is 20.7%, a reduction on the 2016 figure of 23.2% but still considerably above the national average.
However, macro-economic and labour market indicators have shown continued economic and employment growth in the last number of years. Unemployment has fallen from 6.8% in mid-2017 to 5.3% in November 2018. The number of people in receipt of working-age income and employment supports has also continued to fall. With the improvement in the fiscal situation, the Government was in a position to introduce a range of welfare increases from 2016 onwards. This includes a package of measures to support lone parents, encouraging them into the workplace and into education and helping to reduce their childcare costs. Budget 2019 increased the weekly rate by €5 for core welfare payments, including the One Parent Family Payment and the Jobseekers Transition Payment; increased the income disregards for both these payments to €150 per week and increased the qualified child rate with a higher rate introduced for children over 12 years of age. The Back to Work Family Dividend and the Working Family Payment also helps people with families who are entering into employment. In 2017, social transfers reduced the national at-risk-of-poverty rate from 32.3% to 15.7% after social transfers. This equates to a poverty reduction effect of 51% in 2017; ensuring Ireland remains one of the best performing EU countries in reducing poverty through social transfers.
The improvement in the economy, together with the welfare measures referred to, have contributed to the reduction in poverty levels that are evident in the recently released 2017 SILC data. As the economy continues to improve and families on low incomes experience the benefits of the welfare increases announced in Budget 2018 and Budget 2019, I expect to see further reductions in poverty levels, including those of lone parent families and improvements in living standards.
