Niamh Smyth
Ceist:506. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress made on the equality objectives of her Department specifically in relation to women. [11081/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 1 March 2022
Ceisteanna (506)
Freagraí scríofa
The main policy measure to enhance the equality of women in our society is set out in the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020 which set out a range of equality objectives specifically aimed for women. My department has advanced the following important actions to meet the equality objectives in the Strategy and progress opportunities for women. A number of strands of activity include income support, opportunities for and the protection of employment and pensions coverage.
Budget 2022 contained a range of measures which will contribute to the alleviation of poverty in families and in particular in female-headed households. These include increases to
- the weekly rates of all working age payments (including One Parent Family Payment, Jobseeker’s Transition payment and Maternity/Paternity/Adoptive/Parent’s Benefit) and the State pension
- the weekly rates of payment for qualified children
- the income thresholds for the Working Family Payment for all family sizes
- both the income and capital means disregards for the Carers Allowance (in addition to the increase in the weekly payment rate)
- the annual Back to School Clothing and Footwear allowance, along with an adjustment to the weekly income limit for one parent families to bring it in line with two parent families.
My Department brought forward new legislation to protect women's employment rights before policy responsibility moved to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 delivered a commitment under the Programme for Government commitment to tackle increased casualisation of work and to strengthen the regulation of precarious work. The Regulatory Impact Analysis on this legislation found that women are disproportionately represented in low paid sectors of the Labour market. As this legislation is targeted at the low-paid and precariously employed, the legislation has a positive impact on the employment rights of women.
Pathways to Work 2021-2025, the Government’s overall framework for activation and employment support policy, was published in July 2021. The strategy contains five strands of action with "Strand 4: Working for All - Leaving No one Behind" extending targeted employment supports to groups facing additional challenges accessing work such as people with disabilities, lone parents and minority groups, including Travellers. The strategy includes a commitment for the development of a Returner programme, to support people who have left the workforce and been out of the workforce for a period with a view to assisting their return to the workforce, to commence from early 2023. The aim of a returner programme is to help women, in particular, to re-integrate into the workforce following an extended career break and will particularly benefit those with caring commitments.
The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) is a key policy initiative under the Government's new national employment services strategy - Pathways to Work 2021-2025. WPEP is a funded work placement scheme to provide work experience for jobseekers who have been unemployed for more than six months, including time spent on the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP). To date, of the 195 placements approved, 112 (57%) are female, including six participants who are currently in receipt of either One Parent Family Payment or jobseekers transition payments.
The level of consistent poverty among lone parents stands at 21.6%. In line with the 2020 Programme for Government commitment to prioritise and protect supports for lone parents and having regard to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection's Report on the Position of Lone Parents in Ireland (2017), the need to maintain income adequacy for lone parents is recognised as essential in order to successfully transition to employment and to avoid poverty. As part of the Budget 2021 measures, the earnings limit of €425 per week was removed in order to incentivise lone parents to work and to enhance the potential for increased work intensity. This measure also aligned the earnings threshold between jobseekers transition and one parent family payments and offers a vital in-work support for those parenting alone, who are predominantly women.
In addition, the position of lone parents has been highlighted in another Pathways to Work commitment, recognising that their position is a key consideration.
Pension coverage for women is critical and, in particular, the aim is to reduce the gender pension gap that exists in Ireland. All pensions policy options continue to be examined from a gender perspective.
This is not an exhaustive list of measures advanced by my Department since the publication of the National Strategy on Women and Girls in 2017, but it is reflective of the level of commitment to improving the position of women in our society through income support, employment opportunities and pension coverage.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.