Report on Child and Family Income Support published

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The Report on Child and Family Income Support by the Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare was published yesterday and has caused considerable concern for parents across Ireland. The report, however, is an advisory report submitted to Government for consideration; Government has not agreed it. No decisions have been made on this and no timeline or plan on operationalisation has been put in place.

One Family will continue to advocate that Family Income Supplement (FIS) be changed from a ‘threshold’ benefit to one that tapers. Thresholds create poverty traps which are discriminatory and should be moved away from as part of a progressive social protection framework.

It was stated yesterday at the report launch that the computer systems of the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Revenue ‘talk to each other’ now and that they can identify 87% of claimants. This would make paying FIS as a taper and through the wage packet a good and efficient option.

Included in our pre-budget submission for 2012 was our recommendation to restructure Child Benefit to ensure that it is tailored to those most in need.

Click here to read the press release issued at the launch of the report, and here to download the report.

Below are links to some of the media coverage in response to the report:

The Irish Times | ‘No decision’ made on child benefit

Irish Examiner | Burton wants social welfare system that encourages people to work

TheJournal.ie | It’s easy for ministers on high salaries to ignore the importance of child benefit

The Irish Times |  Prospect emerges of cutting child poverty while saving public funds

Listen to a One Family radio documentary

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On February 13th this year, Dublin City FM broadcast a 30-minute radio documentary about One Family. It features interviews with One Family staff members and parents who have availed of our services, offering an insight into what we do and why we do it.

Produced by Pearlman Media, the documentary was part of Faith, Hope & Charity. This six-part series aimed to explore ‘the tenacity and strength of human kind to cope with what ever life throws at it, the generosity of volunteering and the commonality of hopes and dreams for the future’. The other charities featured in the series are the Peter McVerry Trust, Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, the Samaritans, D15 Charity and Ronald McDonald House.

Click here to listen to the One Family podcast.

 

 

                                                                                                     

 

 

 

 

One Family reiterates need for social justice for one-parent families in Ireland

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Press Release

One Family Reiterates Need for Social Justice for One-parent Families in Ireland

Today is UN World Day of Social Justice which aims to promote poverty eradication and social integration. The IMF ranks Ireland as the 15th in the world by GDP per capita yet 232,000 children are at risk of poverty, which represents 18.8% of all children in Ireland according to the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in Ireland for 2011 released last Wednesday by the Central Statistics Office. The 2011 Census shows that there are 215,315 one-parent families in Ireland, accounting for 26% of all families with children, and 22% – almost 352,000 – of all children. SILC demonstrated that one-parent households are the most deprived, with 56% classified as deprived.

Stuart Duffin, One Family’s Director of Policy & Programmes, responds to the findings: “Our analysis of national studies – GUI, CSO ESRI – and evidence gathered by One Family over 40 years demonstrate that child poverty is not a natural phenomenon. It is a political phenomenon – the product of choices and actions made by government and society.”

Mr Duffin welcomes the recommendations in Investing in Children: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage (2013) spearheaded by László Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, as today the European Commission adopts its new social investment package with a call for greater focus on social investment in the national reform programmes of all Member States. This report recognises that addressing child poverty is central to achieving Europe’s 2020 “smart, green and inclusive growth strategy”.

The Commission’s recommendations provide helpful guidance to the Irish State on how to tackle child poverty and promote children’s well-being. It calls for a children’s rights approach and integrated strategies based on three pillars:

  • access to adequate resources;
  • access to affordable quality services; and
  • children’s right to participate.

One Family also calls on the Irish Government to identify the steps that should be taken to end child poverty in Ireland in line with the new EU recommendations as a matter of urgency.

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About One Family
One Family was founded in 1972 and is Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families. We offer support, information and services to all members of all one-parent families, to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to those working with one-parent families. Children are at the centre of One Family’s work and the organisation helps all the adults in their lives, including mums, dads, grandparents, step-parents, new partners and other siblings, offering a holistic model of specialist family support services. These services include the lo-call askonefamily national helpline on 1890 622 212, counseling, and provision of training courses for parents and for professionals. One Family also promotes Family Day, an annual celebration of the diversity of families in Ireland today, with events taking place this year on May 19th. For further information, visit www.onefamily.ie.

Available for Interview
Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family
Stuart Duffin, Director of Policy & Programmes
t: 01 662 9212

 

Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2011 finds lone parent households are most deprived

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The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in Ireland for 2011, a household survey covering a broad range of issues in relation to income and living conditions.

These new figures show that lone parent households are the most deprived, with 56% classified as deprived. According to the survey, 232,000 children are at risk of poverty, which represents 18.8% of all children in Ireland, a slight increase from 18.4% in the previous year. One in seven of those at risk of poverty has a job, according to the statistics, and over half (50.7%) of the population would be at risk without social welfare payments.

Responding to the findings, Stuart Duffin, One Family’s Director of Policy & Programmes, said: “The urgent problems today are the growing number of families making the difficult choice between heating and eating, or getting sucked into the spiral of rent arrears, pay day loans and debt. A central focus on family incomes has to remain, alongside a step change in government strategy on living wages, affordable housing and affordable childcare so that more families can balance their budgets and give their children decent life chances.”

Stuart Duffin further commented: “One Family hopes that Ministers will now take a robust evidence informed approach to policy and start providing income security and making work pay for those families and children in most need.”

Read the CSO press release here. Further analysis by The Irish Times can be found here: Quarter of population classified as deprived | Unravelling the facts, and myths, of Irish inequality | Record numbers in poverty, CSO