There is a meeting being organised on Weds 14 Dec in the Central Hotel Dublin to oppose the cuts to the One Parent family payment, supported by many lone parent groups. The purpose is to organise all groups to unite together for one big march, and a continuous campaign until these cuts are reversed. http://www.facebook.com/events/286957361347614/

Media Release, 8 December 2011

Urgent reversals required before drastic cuts foisted on Ireland’s poorest families

One Family, the leading national organisation for one-parent families, is extremely concerned at the cuts targeted at one-parent families in Budget 2012. Our thousands of members, clients and supporters are also very concerned and our national helpline has been inundated with calls from worried and angry parents.

We are instigating a national campaign to reverse these targeted cuts at Ireland’s poorest families and we call on supporters from all over Ireland and from every political background to support us. Legislation to pass Budget 2012 is going through the Dail on Friday (tomorrow) so there is a great urgency in this campaign. We have already contacted all Ministers and TDs.

The immediate impact of Budget 2012 on one-parent families is:

• An additional €6 per week to be paid by parents towards rent supplement
• A loss of €120 per year towards fuel costs
• A loss of €50 per primary school age child and €55 for secondary school age child in Back to School Clothing & Footwear Allowance cuts
• An increase in VAT, fuel costs, school transport costs as well as school capitation grants
• The loss of €29.80 per child per week because of the cut in the two qualified child increases where the parent is on a Community Employment Scheme and One Parent Family Payment
• New CE scheme applicants will no longer able to retain the One Parent Family Payment and their salary from their participation in the CE scheme
• For the minority of one-parent families with three or more children, a loss of €228 per year for a family with 3 children and €432 for those with 4 children.

The activation measures announced in Budget 2012 have been designed to cut costs to the exchequer rather than support lone parents into sustainable employment and they will not work. Some cuts will actually disconnect lone parents from the labour market in direct contradiction of government policy. They will increase rather than alleviate high levels of child and family poverty for the following reasons:

• We are in a recession and there are no jobs
• There are no specialist supports to help lone parents engage with education, training and the labour market
• The level of money in the Community Childcare Subvention scheme has been cut and there will be a €25 weekly contribution to costs from FÁS and VEC trainees for Childcare Education and Training Support
• There is poor provision of after school care in Ireland
• There is poor childcare provision in parts of the country
• There is very little part-time or modular education
• Budget 2012 has cut family supports through the Family Resource Centre programme and the Family Mediation Service at a time when more families are separating
• Slashing the income disregard will result in increased poverty levels and a disconnection from the labour market
• Education levels of many lone parents are low and they will require long term interventions to help them progress to degree level
• Disincentivising Community Employment as a means of gaining training, accreditation, work experience and a salary will increase a disconnection from the labour market.

We demand the following changes to Budget 2012:

• Devise an additional payment for the poorest children in Ireland to compensate for all the cuts to family income
• Reverse the decision to disallow the payment of partial One Parent Family Payment to those on Community Employment
• Maintain the income disregard at current levels for the foreseeable future at €146.50 per week
• Develop appropriate supports and services in partnership with the voluntary sector to progress lone parents into sustainable employment and pause the lowering of the age limit for OFP eligibility until this is achieved
• Prioritise the case management of lone parents in the new National Employment and Entitlements Service and ensure all supports for those on the live register are available to OFP recipients.

Here is the context in which one-parent families in Ireland live:

• 65% of the country’s poorest children live in one-parent families
• You are four times more likely to live in consistent poverty in a one-parent family than other families (SILC, 2010)
• Those parenting alone were the most negatively affected by the previous budget, losing almost 5% of their annual income. This compared with just a 1.3% fall for high income married couples (TASC, 2011)
• One-parent families were poor in the Celtic Tiger and remain so now
• Low education levels (ESRI, Persistent at Risk of Poverty in Ireland 2011 and Growing-Up in Ireland 2011).

For more information contact:

Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager 01 6629212/087 2359515

Stuart Duffin, Welfare to Work Manager 01 6629212/087 0622023

Karen Kiernan, Director 01 6629212/086 8509191

Here is any update on what we’ve been doing – we have lobbied every TD and senator by phone or email and have managed to get meetings with Labour and FG politicians today to try and get changes to the proposed cuts. Senators are also raising questions for us today. We have also emailed thousands of supporters and other organisations asking for support to reverse some of the cuts. We are constantly in touch with Dept of Social Protection seeking clarification on dates and phasing in times. We can respond to any individual queries if anyone wants to call our helpline 1890622122. One Family is joining a protest tomorrow being organised by a group of enterprising lone parents and we encourage everyone to join us to show your support. 2-5pm outside the Dail Friday 9 Dec http://www.facebook.com/OneFamilyIreland#!/events/129422247170088/

We know that many of you are worried, angry and confused by what has been announced in Budget 2012 in relation to one-parent families.  We hear that many of you want to have your voices heard and the cuts reversed. Your comments, personal stories and views are essential so do please keep sharing not just with One Family but also with the media and our politicians. We want to have as many of these cuts reversed as possible because they are unfair and will lead to even deeper levels of poverty in one-parent families and will absolutely not help people into sustainable jobs.

We are sending a letter to all the Ministers, backbenchers and opposition TDs seeking meetings with them and calling on their support to reverse the cuts. We enclose a copy here

We are calling on you to help us by lobbying them as well.  Just adapt the enclosed letter and send it off yourself. Feel free to include your own story and issues. Visit your local TD in their clinic this weekend – speaking to people in person has a huge impact. Explain to them why it is not possible to cut poor families anymore and then expect them to work. We know many of you are interested in having a protest about this issue and this is something we would also like to look at with the help of other organisations so that we can mobilise enough people to be really seen and heard.

Please let us know who you have lobbied and if you are interested in a taking part in a protest by emailing info@onefamily.ie or calling 01 6629212

Remember, our askonefamily helpline is there to provide information and support should you need it on 1890 662212. We will post updates when we know the dates of implementation for the various cuts. Thanks from everyone in One Family.

One Parent Family Payment

 The rate of payment for the One Parent Family Payment will remain at €188 for the adult and €29.80 per child, per week.

The upper age limit of the youngest child for new claimants of the One-Parent Family Payment will be reduced to 7 years on a phased basis. It will be reduced to 12 years with effect from 2012, then age 10 in 2013 to age 7 in 2014.

There is a reduction in the amount of income disregard for One Parent Family Payment from €146.50 a week to €130 per week.  Further reductions will follow in the next four years.

The transitional payment of half of the rate of One-Parent Family Payment will be discontinued when the recipient’s earnings exceed €425 per week. Existing recipients of the transitional payment will not be affected.

Child Benefit

The amount of child benefit will remain at €140 a month for the first two children, then €148 for the third child and €160 for the fourth child and subsequent children.  Over two years the rate will be standardized for all children. (more…)

Budget update – here are the main social welfare changes and rates of payment from the Dept of Social Protection. Thanks for all the comments and suggestions to get involved in a campaign. We’ll post more about that and our response to the cuts soon too. http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Topics/Budget/bud12/Documents/budfact12.pdf

5 December 2011 Media Release

One-parent families to suffer from today’s harsh budget

Ireland’s poorest families, particularly those parenting alone, have been abandoned by today’s budget and left to face the worst, according to One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families. As he announced today’s budget, Minister Howlin said  ‘…I believe that we have a duty to protect the most vulnerable in our society, and to provide the safety net of social protection in what are very extraordinary times. We must also get people back to work…’ One Family believes that, in the case of one-parent families, the Government has failed on both fronts.

Under the new budget, the upper age limit of the youngest child for new claimants of the One-Parent Family Payment will be reduced to 7 years on a phased basis. Karen Kiernan, One Family Director comments, ‘This means that, by 2014, lone parents of children aged 7 will be deemed available for full-time work despite the fact that we are in a recession, there are hardly any jobs out there and, even if there were, there is no comprehensive affordable childcare or after school care.’ (more…)

Thanks so much to everyone who attended, volunteered at, helped publicise and organise – or took part in – The Culwick Choral Society’s Messiah in Dublin’s St Patrick’s Cathedral last week. We had two glorious evenings of music and song to get everyone in festive mood and we were delighted to see such a crowd on both nights, as any proceeds go to our askonefamily helpline which has been inundated with calls since the recession.