Press Office
This section contains information on OPEN's Press Releases, media coverage and questions in the Oireachtas.
OPEN's National Spokesperson is:
Frances Byrne, CEO on 086 814 3297
Statement from the Minister for Social Protection Éamon Ó Cuív TD on proposed changes to the One-Parent Family payment in the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010.
The current One-Parent Family payment provides long term income support to a lone parent, until their youngest child is 18 years, or 22 years old if in full-time education.
The Government believes that this long-term welfare dependency is not in the best interests of the recipient, the child and society in general.
For new customers applying for the One-Parent Family payment from April 2011, it is proposed that the payment will be made to them until the youngest child reaches age 13 years. (If however the customer is in receipt of a Domiciliary Care Allowance for that child, the One-Parent Family payment will continue until the child reaches 16 years of age and claims Disability Allowance in their own right).
The vast majority of new customers for the One-Parent Family payment are parents of new born babies; therefore the changes in the payment from April 2011 will not affect them until 2024.
There is also a special provision for both married and co-habiting persons who are recently bereaved and who have children aged 13 years or older. They will continue to receive the payment for up to 2 years or until their child is 18 years old to enable them to come to terms with their changed circumstances.
For existing customers of the One-Parent Family payment, there will be a tapered six year phasing out period to enable them to access education and training, to help prepare them for their return to the labour market. Therefore, the age 13 cut off point will only come in to effect for existing customers, six years from now which is 2016. For existing customers, the age 18 cut off point will remain for 2011 and 2012. In 2013 it will be 17 years, in 2014, 16 years, in 2015, 15 years and in 2016, 13 years.
If the child is in full time education there is also a special provision for existing One-Parent Family payment recipients. In this case, payment will continue until the end of the 2012 – 2013 academic year or until the child reaches age 22 - whichever is the earlier.
These changes will bring Ireland's support for lone parents more into line with international provisions, where there is a general movement away from long-term and passive income support. The EU countries achieving the best outcomes in terms of tackling child poverty are those that are combining strategies aimed at facilitating access to employment and enabling services (e.g. child care) with income support.
ENDS
National support organisation expresses dismay at announcement of proposed changes to social welfare for one-parent families
OPEN the national network of lone parent groups has reacted with dismay to the proposals contained in the Social Welfare Bill which was published yesterday.
“We have repeatedly asked the Department of Social Protection to explain the proposed changes to lone parents, who remain statistically the poorest families in Ireland”, said Frances Byrne of OPEN. “These changes will come into effect from April 2011 but will not impact on those lone parents who are on the payment now, and the Department needs to immediately explain this so that there isn’t widespread worry and concern among current recipients of the payment who will not have the payment removed if their youngest child turns 13 in 2011”.
Turning to the details of the Bill, Ms. Byrne continued, “The Bill in relation to the unemployed is very disappointing. At a time when there is huge pressure on education and training programmes, threatening the hard-pressed unemployed with pulling their dole is not the answer. From next year if someone’s marriage or relationship breaks up and their youngest child is already 13, they will go onto an unemployment payment and then face unnecessary pressure to take up training”.
“The Department needed to explain these changes fully to lone parents and others via a national information and awareness campaign instead of what we have seen which has been a series of Ministers out flying kites about the Proposals which have been in the public domain since 2006 when the late Minister Brennan led a considered and meaningful consultation process with lone parents and others affected by the changes. Ireland was a different country in 2006 however and unfortunately the supports such as childcare and quality training are not available as they should be for lone parents, not to mention the jobs that they will need to move out of poverty. These are the people for whom the Bill, and the manner of its announcement, will cause major anxiety”, added Byrne.
“The Department needs to take full responsibility to get the full information out to one-parent families as soon as possible in a clear, comprehensive way which facilitates a full and informed debate about the proposed changes”, concluded Byrne
Ends//
Information: Frances Byrne
Note to Editors:
OPEN is the national network of one-parent families that has nationwide coverage and is led by lone parents.
Lone Parents lose out in the Ministers Budget
"Lone parents and their children have effectively been left out in the cold", says OPEN Director Frances Byrne. Click here for more on OPEN Budget 2010 Press Release.
OPEN has summarised a guide of Budget Changes for Lone Parents. Click Here to View Guide
'1 Million Reasons to Oppose Cuts to Child Benefit’
Frances Byrne, Director of OPEN spoke at a joint Press Conference Thursday 26 November. Other speakers included Candy Murphy, Policy & Campaigns Manager, One Family, Treasa Dovander, Founder, Protest Against Child Unfriendly Budget (PACUB), Maria Corbett, Policy Director, Children’s Rights Alliance, Orla O’Connor, Head of Policy, National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI). The conference was chaired by Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor, Irish Independent.
This unique joint appeal strongly opposes any cuts or changes to child benefit in Budget 2010. The five groups represent all elements of family life; children, women, parents in Ireland and will highlight the detrimental effect on all families if the Government imposes cuts or changes to this payment in the up-coming budget. Click HERE for Press Statement
Press Releases
9th October 2009 OPEN and Treoir Press Release Budget Submission
14th October 2008 OPEN's press release on Budget 2009
OPEN's Submission on Budget 2009
28th May 2008 Opening Up, Opening Out 28.05.08.pdf (182 KB)
17th October 2007 Everybody Knows ... challenging common myths about one parent families in Ireland
26th May 2006 OPEN Statement on Rent Supplement and Lone Parents
27th April 2006 OPEN Challenges Other Departments to Follow Minister Brennan’s Lead
20th of March 2006 Will proposed reforms deliver genuine progress for one parent families?
15th of February 2006 Lone Parents welcome An Post- Fortis initiative
7th of December 2005 Cautious Welcome by Lone Parents to Budget 2006
5th December 2005 I Want to Work But I Can't Afford To
Media Clippings
Irish Independent - November 10th 2005
Out of the Traps Media Coverage
Do the Poor Pay More? - Media Coverage
This page was updated on 4th August, 2010