Dublin has plenty of events happening throughout Autumn for children and their families. Here are a few that you can check out:
v Art Workshops for children can be found every Saturday at the National Gallery of Ireland from 15:00 onwards, and they’re free to go to. Merrion Square West, Dublin 2.
v On Thursday the 27 of September there will be a free children’s workshop for all ages in the National Library of Ireland, 2 Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
v Niamh Sharkey the world renowned children’s book illustrator is hosting a Monster Doodle Workshop to launch the Children’s Book Festival on October 1st. Visit your local library or email info@childrenslaureate.ie for more information on how to take part.
v Trio Time is an opportunity for young children and their grown-ups to make music together and to learn about different instruments in a relaxed, fun workshop. Learn & Explore musicians will tell participants about their instruments and demonstrate their special sounds. Participants will be invited to join in the music-playing through singing, moving and playing simple hand percussion.
10:30am 1 & 2 year olds
11:20am 3 & 4 year olds
12:10pm 5 & 6 year olds
These workshops can be found in the National Concert Hall · Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, Dublin and the price is €7.50 for an adult and €6.00 for a child. These classes run until the 29th of September 2012.
v The Botanical Gardens have organised a “decorate your own pumpkin” competition, with a prize for the most imaginative entry. The competition runs from the 21st of October until the 5th of November. Only the skin is to be decorated and there can be no carving of the pumpkin in case it turns bad.
v From the 28th of September until the 14th of October The Ark and Dublin Theatre Festival will be showing fantastic performances geared towards children aged 2-12 years. Below you can find a list of performance dates and a description of each performance. Tickets cost €10.00.
White 2-4 years 28th September – 4th of October:
Here’s what the Ark has to say about the performance:
“Welcome to the beautifully strange world of White. Full of birdsong and birdhouses, it gleams and dazzles and shines in the night. Two friends look after the birdhouses and make sure the eggs stay safe. Their world is bright, ordered and white. But high up in the trees, all is not white. Colour appears. First red… then yellow… then blue…”
Ha Ha Ha 4+ years 6th-7th of October:
A clowning performance that has had children and adults alike rolling in the aisles since its creation 10 years ago.
Mouth Open, Story Jump Out 8-12 years 9th-11th of October:
An interactive storytelling show and how and why we make things up.
Potato Needs A Bath 3-5 years 12th-14th of October:
A gentle and light-hearted new show for young children featuring fruit, vegetables and original music.
v The Ark is a great centre found in Temple Bar that provides loads of fun and interesting activities for children and their carers. From Monday the 29th of October until Sunday November the 25th they will be opening The Telling Tall and Tiny Tales Experience. This is an interactive book experience with storytellers, workshops, and illustrators coming in different days to share their exciting world. Tickets are €4.00
v On October 31st master storyteller Niall de Burca will be telling spooky tales for all the family at The Ark, Temple Bar. Tickets are at a first come, first served basis.
Best Will in the World Week takes place from Monday 22nd – Friday 26th October, organised by MyLegacy, a coalition of over 70 Irish charities, including One Family.
Solicitors across the country will offer will consultations to the general public for a flat fee of €50. Those interested in making or updating an existing will, are also being encouraged to leave a gift to their favourite charity in their will after loved ones have been looked after. See www.mylegacy.ie for a list of participating solicitors and charities.
One Family is 40! We used to be called Cherish and we’d love everyone who has been involved over the years – clients, staff, supporters – to join us for a big celebratory event in Dublin’s Pillar Room on the evening of Thurs 18 Oct. We will be recalling the past, with some of the founder members of Cherish, and looking to the future as One Family. Places are limited and will be strictly by invite only so if you’d like to come RSVP by Monday 1 Oct 01 662 9212 or info@onefamily.ie
Media Release, Weds 29 August 2012
In response to today’s news that the EU has warned Government that it needs to reform our welfare system, One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, welcomes the broad recommendations and in particular the broadening of the tax base.
Stuart Duffin, One Family Welfare to Work Manager explains, ‘Despite what the economists might say, the jobs recovery has not yet begun. Low-income people, particularly those parenting alone, are facing two significant challenges. The first is simply keeping their heads above water, as they struggle to cover their rent or mortgage, to meet the continually rising costs of energy, to cover the costs of transportation, of putting food on the table and of educating their children, all during a period of high unemployment and few sustainable labour market opportunities. The second challenge is how to develop the skills necessary to participate in any economic recovery and to be capable of benefiting from future economic growth.’
Any successful poverty reduction strategy for Ireland must include a new approach to social assistance programmes that recognises these challenges. The Irish Government needs an overall vision for social assistance. Its adoption of poverty reduction as a goal in social policy must be echoed by creating a 21st century income security system, with underlying principles recognizing diversity through creating equity, treating people with dignity and respect, enhancing social and economic inclusion and eradicating poverty traps.
Duffin continues, ‘One Family’s Ten Solutions are all about delivering some of the supports needed to enable those parenting alone to have better futures out of poverty, off social assistance and in quality, sustainable jobs. A key element of reform will be the Government’s commitment to flexibilities within the system: for example, lone parents who transition to Jobseeker’s Allowance should not be required to be available for fulltime work but rather for 15 hours per week during school hours. This should mitigate many of the child protection concerns that have arisen around 7 year olds being left on their own. A series of flexibilities or exemptions are required in the UK and many other countries to allow for a lack of childcare, lack of transport, a child with a disability, separation, bereavement, home-schooling and so on.’
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For more information contact Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager, One Family, 01 6629212 / 087 2359515 or Stuart Duffin, Welfare to Work Manager, 087 0622023
One Family Counselling Coordinator Sherie de Burgh will be delivering one of a series of masterclasses aimed at giving professionals in-depth knowledge and skills to resource them in managing the challenges that present around unplanned pregnancy. The masterclasses are being organised by the Deptartment of Adult and Community Education, NYU, Maynooth. Applications will be taken on a first come first served basis for all classes and early booking is advisable. The first class is at the end of September. See the link below
A full list of experts nominated by civil society groups to serve on the Government’s Constitutional Convention has been published – including One Family Director, Karen Kiernan http://www.iccl.ie/news/2012/08/16/expert-nominations-to-constitutional-convention-revealed.html
Stressed out about getting the kids, and yourself, ready to go back to school? One Family’s tips should help!
http://www.onefamily.ie/wp-content/uploads/Level-4-Relationships-Back-to-School1.pdf
Listen back to Stuart Duffin, One Family Welfare to Work Manager, speaking out on RTE 1’s Drivetime yesterday, calling for reform of the Child Benefit system.
He is at 01:57:00:00 towards the end of the show, here is the link
http://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!rii=9%3A3367480%3A83%3A14-08-2012%3A
Media Release, 14 August 2012
One Family welcomes restructuring of Child Benefit
Following reports that wealthy parents will be able to hand back the €140-a-month child benefit payment to the State if they wish, under new measures being drawn up by Government officials, One Family’s Stuart Duffin states, ‘As part of our submission for Budget 2013 we are recommending a restructuring of Child Benefit to ensure that it is tailored to those most in need.’
One Family recommends the following approach to child benefit:
An unconditional, non-withdrawable income payable to each child as a right.
A second level payment tailored to the needs of the family ensuring that the needs of economically disadvantaged families, such as those parenting alone, are fully recognized. This second level assistance should be seen as income and therefore means-tested, for example through the tax system, and could be paid to low income families as a refundable tax credit.
Duffin continues, ‘Putting money into the hands of low-income families and in particular lone parents, who will spend that money at businesses in their communities, helps keep the economy moving. Increases to incomes will go directly to the purchase of food, clothing and other household necessities, benefiting not only low-income families but also our economy.’
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For more information contact:
Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager, One Family, 01 6629212
or
Stuart Duffin, Welfare to Work Manager, One Family, 01 6629212
Discrimination against parents in schools must end –
One Family calls for a national policy
Media Release, 26 July 2012
Following the exclusion of a young mother from secondary school in Tipperary, the negative findings of the Ombudsman for Children in this matter and the unrepentant response from the former principal involved, One Family calls on Minister Quinn to provide a national policy on school age parents.
One Family Director Karen Kiernan explained: “It is extremely unfortunate that 40 years after the establishment of our organisation, Irish society is still being shocked by the discriminatory and judgmental actions of a minority. It is time that publically funded schools are no longer permitted to practice such damaging discrimination and we call for a national policy on young parents and post-primary education. Research indicates that young parents can become distanced from education more easily than other young people. This can then negatively impact on their ability to provide an adequate income for their family in the future.”
Kiernan continued: “Without knowledge or reference to any particular case, young people can become pregnant in a number of ways and not always consensually or with their full knowledge. An awareness of the sensitivity of young people’s sexuality, practices, crisis pregnancy and needs as parents are required by schools and teachers in order to support all students.
“Whilst we welcome the fact that the Minister does not support the actions of the principal involved in the Tipperary case, it is time to ensure this cannot happen again to another young parent.”
One Family works to support women and couples through unplanned and crisis pregnancies; we provide specialist parenting supports for people parenting alone and sharing parenting of their children; we support lone parents into education, training and employment; we provide a national helpline to one-parent families. More at www.onefamily.ie
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Contact: Karen Kiernan, Director, One Family. T: 01 662 9212 M: 086 850 9191
Requirement for lone parents to work part-time is being seriously considered by Minister Burton
Media Release, 2 July 2012
At the launch of One Family’s Annual Review and Graduation, One Family got an opportunity to publicly critique recent cuts aimed at lone parents and Minister Burton got to hear, first hand, stories of triumph over hardship from some of the 150 lone parents who were graduating from One Family Welfare to Work Programmes.
Minister Burton announced that the requirement for lone parents to be required to work part-time, rather than full-time is being seriously considered, if they are moved off the One Parent Family Payment and onto Job Seekers Allowance when their youngest child is seven.
‘This is a positive and necessary move as it is completely unreasonable to expect lone parents to be available for full time work, particularly given the lack of provision of childcare and afterschool care in Ireland,’ says Karen Kiernan, One Family Director.
One Family also used the opportunity to re-iterate the recommendations from its Ten Solutions campaign to the Minister. Ten Solutions are all about delivering some of the supports needed to enable lone parents to have Smarter Futures – to help them out of poverty, off social assistance and into quality, sustainable jobs. These solutions may not require a lot of money but they do require public services and policy makers to think and behave creatively so that we can deliver more appropriate and effective services.
For the full Ten Solutions see http://www.onefamily.ie/wp-content/uploads/Ten-Solutions-final.pdf
For further information or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson:
Contact Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager, One Family 087 2359515/ 01 6629212
Part-time requirement to work being seriously considered by Minister Burton – announcement at the launch of our Annual Review 2011 and graduation today. Following a critique of recent cuts aimed at lone parents and recommendations from One Family, the Minister has undertaken to review how lone parents will be moved onto Job Seeker’s Allowance when their youngest child is 7. This is a positive and necessary move as it is completely unreasonable to expect lone parents to be available for full time work.
Media Release
Minister Joan Burton TD addresses Lone Parents as they graduate from One Family Welfare to Work Programmes
Part-time requirement to work being seriously considered by Minister Burton – announcement at the launch of our Annual Review 2011 and graduation today. Following a critique of recent cuts aimed at lone parents and recommendations from One Family, the Minister has undertaken to review how lone parents will be moved onto Job Seeker’s Allowance when their youngest child is 7. This is a positive and necessary move as it is completely unreasonable to expect lone parents to be available for full time work.
Friday 29 June 2012, St Andrews Resource Centre, Dublin 2 Over 150 lone parents graduated today from a wide range of career and personal development programmes run by One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families.
Speaking at today’s graduation, and at the launch of One Family’s Annual Review, Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, TD stressed the need for a joined up approach to the delivery of services for one-parent families.
Also speaking at the launch, The Norwegian Ambassador, His Excellency Mr Roald Naess, commented that we should, ‘Dispel the notion that Norway has a good welfare system because of oil. Norway has an effective welfare system because it views the system as an investment in human capital which delivers opportunities for people.’
Explaining how One Family services aim to do just that, Karen Kiernan, One Family Director, said, ‘Improved co-ordination of services for lone parents will ensure that they get the personalised support that they need, whilst avoiding unnecessary duplication. One Family understands that lone parents often face multiple barriers to their progress, all of which need to be addressed. For example, a lone parent who has been out of the job market for ten years will have training needs, but will also require access to career counselling and employment services. That is why our programmes, including the flagship New Futures initiative, take an holistic approach to each parent’s needs, offering tailored help in the shape of career, personal, employment and mentoring support.’
One Family Welfare to Work programmes give lone parents, who are most at risk of being long-term unemployed, the supports they need to get them into the jobs market or back to education. The programmes have a high success rate – from this year’s 150 graduates 80% of parents have already progressed to work, mainly part-time, and 70% are moving on to third level education.
Stuart Duffin, One Family Welfare to Work Manager added, ‘It has been a real honour to work with the 150 committed and hard-working lone parents on our many and varied programmes over what has been a very difficult year for one-parent families. One Family is proud to host today’s graduation and we will continue to work to create better lives for lone parents and their children.’
One Family’s Ten Solutions Smarter Futures campaign has ten effective cost neutral administrative and management solutions to facilitate those parenting alone back into work and education, as Stuart Duffin continued, ‘We welcome Minister Burton’s statement on the need for affordable childcare, and we have nine other suggestions for getting lone parents off welfare and back to work.’
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For further information or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson:
Contact Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager, One Family 087 2359515/ 01 6629212
Note to Editors:
For more information on One Family Welfare to Work Programmes see
http://www.onefamily.ie/families/education-skills-employment/
For more information on One Family Ten Solutions Campaign see
http://www.onefamily.ie/policy/one-family-%E2%80%93-ten-solutions-smarter-futures-cost-neutral-solutions-to-help-lone-parents-back-into-work-and-education/
About One Family
One Family has been providing specialist family support services to people parenting alone and sharing parenting for 40 years. Services include parenting and skills training, counselling, parent mentoring and national information supports.
Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs will launch a public consultation on improving the lives of children and young people on Monday, 11th June 2012. Consultation forms can be completed on-line or in hard copy. The closing date for the consultation is Friday, 6th July 2012.
The consultation will inform the development of all key policies and strategies within the Department over the next five years.
Please see HSE website http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/News/consultation2012.html for more
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE FAMILY CELEBRATED WITH FAMILY DAY PICNIC & FREE ENTERTAINMENT IN IVEAGH GARDENS
THOUSANDS ATTEND PICNIC HELD BY ONE FAMILY AND EBSTO CELEBRATE FAMILIES IN IRELAND
Sunday 13th May, 2012 One Family and EBS came together to celebrate Irish families by hosting a free Family Day picnic in Iveagh Gardens. Hundreds of families joined the fun for Family Day by either attending the picnic in Iveagh Gardens or by hosting their own event with their family to celebrate family diversity in Ireland.
Speaking about Family Day, Doireann Sweeney of EBS said: “EBS is delighted to be partnering with One Family to celebrate International Day of the Family for the third year in a row. It’s great to have so many families in the one place enjoying the day. Families are important to EBS and that’s why we partnered with One Family in the lead up to today. I’d like to congratulate everyone on all their hard work in making today a huge success.”
Today, families were invited to a free day of fun in The Iveagh Gardens and were encouraged to bring picnics to enjoy together. Activities ncluded arts and crafts workshops, fun sports for all the family, story telling, face painters, drama workshops, magicians and other live entertainment. Those who couldn’t make the picnic were encouraged to host their own fun event. Hundreds of children entered the Family Portrait competition – by simply drawing or painting their family portrait. The prize is €500 and the competition remains open until 31st May – all details on www.familyday.ie.
Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family, the national organisation for one-parent families, said: “We are passionate about Family Day because it can be a positive life-affirming event for children in all families but particularly those in diverse families. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are international institutions but they do leave out lots of children every year and they can cause awkwardness and exclusion despite the best efforts of parents and teachers. However the concept of Family Day is so broad that everyone should be able to see themselves reflected in the notion of family no matter what size or shape their family is. Even for those children who may not be living in their family of choice or birth, we hope that they can find something positive and celebratory in Family Day.
*Terms and conditions apply
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For further information contact:
Hilary Fennell, One Family, 087 2359515
Suzanne Sullivan, Q4PR, 01-4751444/086-3797291
Notes to editors:
UN definition of the family: “any combination of two or more persons who are bound together by ties of mutual consent, birth and/or adoption or placement and who, together assume responsibility for, inter alia, the care and maintenance of group members, the addition of new members through procreation or adoption, the socialisation of children and the social control of members”.
For more information on UN International Day of the Family see www.un.org/esa/socdev/family/IDF.html
About One Family:
One Family is Ireland’s leading organisation providing specialist support services for people parenting alone and sharing parenting. Services include parenting and skills training, counselling, parent mentoring and a national helpline askonefamily which can be reached on 1890 66 22 12 or www.onefamily.ie
One Family launches its Ten Solutions for Smarter Futures for lone parents in Leinster House today
Media Release, 2 May 2012, At today’s launch of ‘One Family – Ten Solutions – Smarter Futures’ campaign, Ciara Conway, TD for Waterford and Vice Chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Health, Children and Youth Affairs said, ‘This campaign is a solutions focused approach to Budget 2012. It addresses ten challenges faced by lone parents, and gives us the first concrete steps to take towards delivering services which connect and empower them around education, work and independence. We acknowledge the challenges ahead but are prepared to tackle them and Minister Burton has the determination and will to succeed.’
‘Ten solutions – Smarter Futures’ outlines proposals that will enable Government to help reduce inequality and improve the wellbeing and life chances of those parenting alone. Stuart Duffin, Welfare to Work Manager at One Family, explains, ‘This goal towards a more equal State, where lone parents and their children are better equipped to succeed, has political consensus and increasing public support,’ he continues, ‘we recognise that budgets are strained, which is why we have come up with low-cost or cost-neutral solutions to improving the lives of one-parent families.’
Some of the suggestions in ‘Ten solutions – Smarter Futures’ include:
Flexibilities: lone parents who move to Jobseeker’s Allowance should only be required to work for 15 hours per week during school terms. This would help address many of the child protection concerns around seven year olds being left on their own. Flexibilities also take into account a lack of childcare or transport, having to cope with a child with a disability or with a separation or a bereavement, and so on.
Education and Training: development and promotion of a wide range of part-time, modular education and training from all public providers. A range of programmes need to start later and finish earlier to allow parents to look after their children.
Progression Opportunities: ensure equality of opportunities for lone parents in the work place. Permit One-Parent Family Payment recipients to participate in all activation programmes. Support the promotion and up-skilling of lone parents.
Stuart Duffin continues, ‘‘One Family – Ten Solutions – Smarter Futures’ helps to lay the foundations for a fairer, more equal society, by addressing some of the challenges faced by lone parents and their children. For thirty years, trickle-down economics have divided Ireland by yielding significant wealth for a few, but leaving others by the wayside. There is wide public support for a different way of organising our affairs – this is the Government’s opportunity to deliver on a undertaking that can radically change children’s lives – and to create a welfare to work system which empowers lone parents.’
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For more information contact Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager, One Family, 01 6629212
Free FAMILY DAY PICNIC AT THE IVEAGH GARDENS Sunday 13 May 2012
One Family and EBS announce TWELVE more reasons not to miss your free Family Day 2012…
Media Release, 1 May 2012 – One Family and EBS today announced an exciting line up for the free Family Day Picnic they are hosting on the 13th May in Iveagh Gardens, Dublin from 11am – 5pm. Imaginosity, Fighting Words, Al Kazam the party king, Gaiety School of Acting, Grow it Yourself, Football Association of Ireland, Dublin Fire Brigade, Jane Shorthall Dancers, Ballyfermot Superjettes, Daria and Paul’s story time, Dress For Success with RTE’s Sonya Lennon, Family Day sports field – and that’s just for the kids…
Hosted by One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent familes, and EBS, the free event in the Iveagh Gardens is a must for everyone who wants to celebrate their own family and to support family diversity. People are being reminded today to log onto www.familyday.ie to find out more details for Family Day activities.
As broadcaster Ian Dempsey explained at the launch, ‘Families come in all shapes and sizes and Family Day is a day for everyone to celebrate their family, no matter what its make up, and to think about what family really means.’
Marvel at the magician Al Kazam as he performs throughout the day; push your way to the front of the crowd and get moving with internationally renowned dancer and choreographer Jane Shortall; start twirling those batons with the Ballyfermot Superjettes; lose your inhibitions with the Gaiety School of Acting drama workshop; have a go at goal scoring with FAI’s giant inflatable target wall; meet RTE’s / Dress For Success ‘s Sonya Lennon who will have a big bag of tricks for children’s dressing-up time; sow seeds with Grow it Yourself and then take them home and watch them grow; enjoy interactive puppet shows and music workshops with Imaginosity; join a Fighting Words workshop and write your own story; get competitive in our egg-and-spoon, wheelbarrow and three-legged races and then chill out listening to Daria and Paul’s story time – and, vroom vroom, here’s your chance to see a real fire engine up close thanks to Dublin Fire Brigade.
Aidan Power, Head of Marketing and Communications EBS, says: ‘We have a great line-up and want as many families as possible to join us on the day. We have something for all ages and under 18’s can also enter our Family Portrait Art competition to be in with a chance of winning €500*. We’ve even thought of the parents who will be treated to free massages and make up lessons on the day. EBS are very excited to support Family Day and we’re looking forward to a fun day out.’
Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family, adds, ‘Bring your own rug and picnic – and an umbrella just in case! But don’t worry if you don’t have time to make a picnic – you can visit our on-site food village if you’re hungry. All the details are on www.familyday.ie.’
To register for the free family day picnic log onto www.familyday.ie.
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For photographs of children with One Family, EBS and Ian Dempsey at the launch or further information please contact:
Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager, One Family 01-6629212 /087 2359515
One Family – 10 cost neutral suggestions for helping lone parents back to work
Media release, 19 April 2012, One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, announces its ‘One Family-Ten Solutions’ campaign which provides ten cost neutral strategies to assist lone parents back into work or education. This follows Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton’s, statement that she won’t stop lone parent payments when the youngest child is seven unless she receives a commitment in the next Budget on affordable childcare.
‘We welcome Minister Burton’s statement on the need for affordable childcare, and we have nine other suggestions for getting lone parents off welfare and back to work,’ explains Stuart Duffin, One Family Welfare to Work Manager.
One Family campaign suggestions include:
Flexibilities: lone parents who move to Jobseeker’s Allowance should only be required to seek work for 15 hours per week during school hours. This would help address many of the child protection concerns around seven year olds being left on their own. Flexibilities also take into account a lack of childcare or transport, having to cope with a child with a disability or a separation or a bereavement, and so on.
Education and Training: development and promotion of a wide range of part-time, modular education and training from all public providers. A range of programmes need to start later and finish earlier to allow parents to look after their children.
Progression Opportunities: Ensure equality of opportunities for lone parents in the work place. Permit One-Parent Family Payment recipients to participate in all activation programmes. Support the promotion and upskilling of lone parents.
Besides the ‘Ten Solutions’ campaign, One Family is also offering to host a cross-party, inter-agency Task & Finish group to evaluate and recommend practical options which will ensure accessible, affordable models for the delivery of child and after school care services across the State.
Stuart Duffin continues, ‘If these suggestions for a joined-up welfare to work strategy for lone parents are not adopted, child poverty will rise by the end of this Dail. We need to take a step in the direction out of poverty and welfare dependence; not an approach which limits lone parents’ chances and quality outcomes for their children.’
For the full Campaign see http://bit.ly/IWn9eG
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For more information contact:
Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager, One Family T: 01 662 9212 M: 087 2359515
Stuart Duffin, Welfare to Work Manager, One Family T: 01 662 9212 M: 087-0622023
Stuart Duffin, One Family, Welfare to Work Manager, was at the 66th Labour Party Conference in Galway over the weekend promoting One Family’s course of action in response to Budget 2012. All 750 copies of the paper, One Family – Ten Solutions – Smarter Futures were taken and read. One Family is advocating cost neutral administrative and management approaches which would facilitate those parenting alone back into work and education. There is overwhelming support for our stance on flexibilites; that is, that lone parents who transition to Jobseeker’s Allowance should not be required to be available for fulltime work but rather for 15 hours per week during school hours. This should mitigate many of the child protection concerns and parental caring responsibilities that have arisen around 7 year olds being left on their own. A series of flexibilities or exemptions are required as per the UK and many other countries to allow for a lack of childcare, lack of transport, a child with a disability, separation, bereavement, etc, This is a first step in a journey to ensure that lone parents and in particular children in lone parent families do not suffer disproportionally in the current economic climate.
See the full document here Ten Solutions
For more information on flexibilities for lone parents who are in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Here is some relevant Census 2011 data on Lone Parents in Ireland:
1 in 8 people in Ireland live in a one-parent family, 567,311 persons out of a general population of 4,588,252.
1 in 4 (25.8%) families with children in Ireland is a one-parent family, 215,315 lone parent families out of 834,266 families with children.
Over half a million people live in one-parent families in Ireland, 567,311 persons
13.5 per cent of one-parent families are headed by a father, 29,031 lone fathers as opposed to 186,284 lone mothers.
1 in 5 (21.7%) children live in a one-parent family,351,996 children in one-parent families, out of a national total of 1,625,975 children
Press Release
ONE FAMILY & EBS LAUNCH FAMILY DAY AND ANNOUNCE DETAILS OF THEIR FAMILY DAY ART COMPETITION AND A PICNIC TO BE HOSTED IN DUBLIN’S IVEAGH GARDENS ON SUNDAY 13 MAY
IRISH BROADCASTER, IAN DEMPSEY CALLS ON FAMILIES ACROSS IRELAND TO CELEBRATE FAMILY DAY
5 April 2012 – To mark International Day of the Family, One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, and EBS are inviting all families in Ireland to attend a Family Day Picnic and a free day of fun and entertainment in The Iveagh Gardens from 11am – 5pm on Sunday 13th May 2012. Those who can’t make the picnic can hold their own event or enter the Family Day art competition by logging on to www.familyday.ie.
Today FM offer media support to Family Day and, speaking at the launch, broadcaster Ian Dempsey explained: “Family Day is an annual celebration of the diversity of families and family life across the world.” He added: “Families come in all shapes and sizes and Family Day is a day for everyone to celebrate their family, no matter what its make-up, and to think about what family really means.”
At the Family Day Picnic there will be lots of free events for families to take part in including family sports day activities, children’s entertainment, face painting, arts and crafts workshops as well as storytelling sessions. For those who don’t have time to prepare a picnic there will be a food village on site for the day serving a range of quality refreshments.
EBS have partnered with One Family for three years to mark International Day of the Family. Speaking today Aidan Power, Head of Marketing and Communications EBS, said: “EBS is delighted to be partnering with One Family to celebrate International Day of the Family for the third year in a row. Over the years it’s been great to see so many families take part and mark the day in some way. This year we’re also asking people to enter the Family Day art competition. It’s simple – all you have to do is draw your family and drop your entry into your local EBS office or post it to One Family. I hope everyone celebrates the day in some shape or form and I’m looking forward to seeing many of you on the 13th of May.”
You could win €500*for you and your family through the Family Day art competition by simply drawing or painting your family portrait. Entries will be accepted from those under 18. Just drop your portrait into your local EBS office or post it to One Family, 2 Lower Pembroke St, Dublin 2 and you will be entered into a prize draw.
If you can’t make it to Dublin then you can hold your own event and register it at www.familyday.ie. The type of family event you hold is entirely up to you and can be held any time during the week of Monday 7th – Sunday 13th May. Organisations may want to organise a family themed arts and crafts project, or a story telling hour or even a formal talk. Families may prefer to have a family outing such as a treasure-hunt, or a family X-Factor competition.
Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family, the national organisation for one-parent families, said: “This year is One Family’s 40th anniversary – and now more than ever, we need your help. Lone parents were badly affected by the last budget and we can hardly cope with the number of calls to our askonefamily national helpline. So, we’d be delighted if people would consider turning their events into fundraisers for our helpline so that we can reach out and help even more people who parent alone or share parenting – and their children.”
*Terms and conditions apply
For further information about how to celebrate Family Day with One Family and EBS log onto www.familyday.ie.
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For photographs of children with One Family, EBS and Ian Dempsey at the launch or further information please contact:
Karen Kiernan, Director, One Family 01-6629212 /086 8509191
Suzanne Sullivan, Q4PR, 086-3797291
Notes to editors:
UN definition of the family: “any combination of two or more persons who are bound together by ties of mutual consent, birth and/or adoption or placement and who, together assume responsibility for, inter alia, the care and maintenance of group members, the addition of new members through procreation or adoption, the socialisation of children and the social control of members”.
For more information on UN International Day of the Family see www.un.org/esa/socdev/family/IDF.html
About One Family:
One Family is Ireland’s leading organisation providing specialist support services for people parenting alone and sharing parenting. Services include parenting and skills training, counselling, parent mentoring and a national helpline askonefamily which can be reached on 1890 66 22 12 or www.onefamily.ie
We got loads of press coverage for the launch of our new Child Contact Centre service which is great. Here is One Family Director Karen Kiernan on The Last Word with Matt Cooper explaining all about it at 15 minutes into the clip. http://media.todayfm.com/listenback/98/monday/1/popup 
Here are some figures of interest from Census 2011
1 in 8 people in Ireland live in a one-parent family (Census 2011)
- 567,311 persons out of a general population of 4,588,252.
1 in 4 (25.8%) families with children in Ireland is a one-parent family (Census 2011)
- 215,315 lone parent families out of 834,266 families with children.
- We previously reported 1 in 6 families in Ireland were one-parent families from the 2006 census data; however this was counting couples who had no children. Normative conceptions of family presuppose the presence of children and including couples, whether married or not, in the calculation is potentially misleading. Therefore we have calculated the above 1 in 4 figure using a base of all families with children in Ireland.
Over half a million people live in one-parent families in Ireland (Census 2011)
- 567,311 persons
- 29,031 lone fathers as opposed to 186,284 lone mothers.
13.5 per cent of one-parent families are headed by a father (Census 2011)
1 in 5 (21.7%) children live in a one-parent family (Census 2011)
- 351,996 children in one-parent families, out of a national total of 1,625,975 children.
Press Release
Barnardos and One Family launch much needed
Service for Children and Separated Parents in Ireland
Dublin, 2 April 2012 – A new service for children whose parents are separated and who are unable to agree safe and appropriate arrangements for contact was launched today by Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald, TD. The first-of-its kind in Ireland, the Child Contact Centre service provided by Barnardos, Ireland’s leading independent children’s charity, and One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, is operating on a two year pilot in three locations in Dublin: Ballymun, Clondalkin and Tallaght.
A Child Contact Centre is a safe, friendly and neutral place where children can spend time with the parent(s) they do not live with. The aim of the service is to enable children, where possible, to grow up enjoying a positive relationship with both of their parents, even when they don’t live together. Specialist contact centres for children and families involved in marriage and relationship breakdown are common in many countries throughout Europe including Northern Ireland.
The Barnardos & One Family Child Contact Centre service provides a range of contact options including, supervised contact – where contact is supervised for one family at a time; supported contact – where contact is provided for a number of families at the same time, and handover contact – where an arrangement is agreed for one parent to bring their child to the contact centre to be collected by the other parent, without the parents needing to meet. Parents are offered additional family supports like counselling and a key worker to assist them in addressing the issues that led to them to needing to use a Child Contact Centre service, so that they can move on to self-arranged contact over time.
Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family explained, ‘The need for the service was identified in research carried out by One Family (Supporting Child Contact: the Need for Child Contact Centres in Ireland – Family Support Agency, 2010) which clearly identified a significant level of unmet need in relation to children of separated parents. The report shows that based on international provision, Ireland could require 37 such centres throughout the country.’
‘During the course of that research we consulted parents, legal professionals and family support workers and there is overwhelming support for such services. They are particularly vital in situations where there are high levels of conflict between parents, where a parent has had little previous contact with his or her children, or where there are concerns over the safety of the child,’ continued Ms Kiernan.
Francis Chance, Assistant Director of Children’s Services at Barnardos said, ‘The service responds to a need for families who, up until now, have been largely invisible, experiencing a high level of pain, hurt and distress. Family Law courts and judges have had very limited choices as to where to refer parents and children who are having difficulties managing contact. The Child Contact Centres fill that vacuum.”
‘Unfortunately many children have to walk an emotional tightrope while the most significant adults in their lives are deeply entrenched in conflict. By supporting families to manage contact, we are relieving children of a heavy burden, one they often carry on their own. In many cases it can be difficult for the parents to shift their focus away from their relationship to that of their child’s needs. Our focus is the best interests of the children and we look to align the parents as partners working on behalf of their child’s needs. The service brings huge benefit to the parents too, enabling both parents to develop a positive relationship with their child and giving them the peace of mind to know that their child is safe and supported during their contact with the parent they do not live with. Without the provision of specialist supports for separated parents and their children, there is a risk that more children will lose touch with the parent with whom they do not live, most often their father,’ Mr Chance continued.
The Barnardos & One Family Child Contact Centre pilot service is now fully operational in Ballymun, Clondalkin and Tallaght, with significant demand for the service from families, many of whom are involved in court proceedings. Since opening its doors, the service is actively supporting 28 families to create opportunities to have quality time together, some of whom having been out of one another’s lives for many years.
Parents participating in the service have said about their children:
“He is much more settled and has developed a good understanding of having two homes and does not see his mum and dad fighting anymore.”
“I think the staff take good care of the children and parents too. They are very interested in the children’s needs and try to make the time with the parents very enjoyable for all concerned.”
“I am delighted, my son is a year and a half now and this is the most time I have spent with him getting to know his buzz…” (after first visit)
Speaking at the launch, Frances Fitzgerald, TD said, “As Minister for Children & Youth Affairs, my ultimate goal to seek to achieve the very best for Ireland’s children. Positive interaction between parents and children is pivotal to help achieve this. The contact centre pilot project is an excellent example of what can be achieved when we work together in the best interests of children and families, especially those in difficult or crisis situations.”
”I wish congratulate all involved in getting this project off the ground including One Family and Barnardos, the HSE, the Family Support Agency, Ballymun Regeneration and my own Department of Children and Youth Affairs”
The pilot of the Barnardos & One Family Child Contact Centre service is supported by a team of 28 volunteers who have been trained to assist in the provision of supported contact. The service is funded by: The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, The Family Support Agency, The Health Service Executive and Ballymun Regeneration.
Ms Kiernan concluded, ‘We very much appreciate the co-operation and support we are receiving from Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald, her Department and our other funders. We look forward to rolling out of this much needed service throughout the country, in the future.’
Anyone can make a referral to the service by contacting Barnardos & One Family Child Contact Centre at childcontact@onefamily.ie or on 01 4032085/89/80 on Tuesdays from 9.30am – 1pm.
Mr. Chance concluded, “It has been an intensely positive and rewarding experience for the children involved and their parents. We look forward to discussing our interim evaluation findings with our funders later this year.”
The service is also available to children who are living in the care of the Health Service Executive and who need support to have contact with their parent(s).
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For further information or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson:
- Contact Hilary Fennell, One Family – 087 2359515
- Contact Irene Lawlor, Barnardos – 086 3980441
Note to Editors:
For more information on the Child Contact Centres see www.barnardos.ie
Summary of Supporting Child Contact: the Need for Child Contact Centres in Ireland – Family Support Agency, 2010) available here http://www.onefamily.ie/professionals/policy-research/research-reports/
About Barnardos
Barnardos supports children whose well-being is under threat, by working with them, their families and communities and campaigning for the rights of children. Barnardos was established in Ireland in 1962 and is Ireland’s leading independent children’s charity.
About One Family
One Family has been providing specialist family support services to people parenting alone and sharing parenting for 40 years. Services include parenting and skills training, counselling, parent mentoring and national information supports.