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.’ Read 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.
MEDIA RELEASE: 22 November 2011
One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, say that any reduction in Child Benefit would be a blow to all middle-earner families, but for some families, in particular those parenting alone, it would be a further step towards living in consistent poverty. Read more
Volunteer Parent Mentors required One Family would like to expand its Parent Mentoring Service …