Budget 2012 & You
Community Employment
- Loss of Child Payment
- Loss of all One Parent Family Payment (OFP) for those who go on Community Employment (CE) from January 2012
Earnings Disregard
- Reduction from €146.50 to €130 per week from January 2012
- Further reductions until 2015 - €60 per week
Social Welfare & Pensions Bill 2012
Section Four of the Bill introduces a major change to the One-parent Family Payment
- By 2015, a lone parent will lose his/her payment when their youngest child reaches 7 years of age
- Unemployed lone parents will move on to a Jobseekers payment & have to meet ‘Genuinely Seeking Work’ requirements
- Working lone parents will have to make a difficult choice between full-time work or full-time welfare.
Our Concerns
Reform
- We support social welfare reform. It is already in place for lone parents since last April though and we have fully supported the reduction to age 14 by 2016.
- The Department of Social Protection as well as the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Social Protection & Education have stated that this is not the time for reform.
Perceptions
- No other group of mothers is being singled out for ‘activation’ when their children turn 7.
- Between 48%-60% of lone parents on social welfare are in employment, education or training – this helps to dispel myths about welfare spongers which are very hurtful to our families.
- Unemployment among lone parents will increase if Section Four of the Bill goes ahead, thus helping to harden attitudes in wider society.
Take Action TODAY!
Contact your local TDs
- The list is here
- You can e-mail, tweet at or contact their Facebook page.
- Please state your opposition to Section Four of the Bill firmly but politely.
Get a campaign poster
- Contact enquiries@oneparent.ie for your poster.
- Display it at home or work or at somewhere in your community.
- Take a picture of it, you with it or get creative! Send in the photo to enquiries@oneparent.ie to add to our Supporters Gallery.
Donate
- Donate online – as little as €2 & it’s totally secure
- Send in a cheque to OPEN
- Thank you.
OPEN Representing Lone Parent Groups Nationwide
We work at community level to ensure that one-parent families get the vital supports and services we need.
We campaign at national level so that lone parents and our children can have a better life.
OPEN is led by a Board made up of people parenting alone from various parts of Ireland.
