Dmac Support, Author at One Family

On Tuesday, 13 September, One Family will host an online seminar exploring the experiences of one-parent families who access public services. The seminar will examine how the Public Sector Human Rights and Equality Duty can prevent discrimination and protect human rights. At the event One Family will launch two new evidence-based guidelines, one for parents and one for the public sector, aimed at improving the experiences of people in one-parent families when interacting with public services.

As well as a presentation on the research underpinning the guidelines, the seminar will also hear from parents about their experiences and what they believe should happen next.

For more information and details click here:

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Our policy team have made a submission to the Department of Justice on Parental Alienation. To read the full submission click here.
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Did you grow up in a one-parent family in Ireland?

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If so, One Family & The Ark Cultural Centre for Children invite you to share your experience to help develop a new work for the stage.

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One Family is delighted to partner for the first time with The Ark to develop an exciting new work for the stage which aims to reflect real life experiences of children in one-parent families in Ireland over the years.

The Ark commissions, presents and produces work for, by and about children for young audiences ages 2-12 throughout the year and from time to time also creates and presents work for grow ups which reflects and celebrates children’s experiences. To mark 50 years of One Family and our work supporting one-parent families in Ireland since our foundation in 1972 as Cherish, we will collaborate with The Ark to develop a new piece of documentary theatre. 1 in 5 people in Ireland live in a one-parent family and 1 in 4 families with children in Ireland is a one-parent family.

Created by playwright Kate Heffernan, the piece will reflect stories and memories shared by grown-ups about their experiences as children growing up in one-parent families in Ireland. The aim is that through these shared memories, they can shine a light on the real experiences of one-parent families over the years in Ireland. All names provided will be changed and measures will be taken to anonymise stories to ensure that no one is identifiable.

Today a call out was announced inviting those over 18 to share their own experience to help in the development of this piece of documentary theatre.

“We’re really excited to be working with The Ark and Kate Heffernan, to develop this piece of theatre reflecting the diversity of family life in Ireland. One in five people in Ireland live in a one-parent family yet their stories are seldom told this will be an opportunity to show the rich tapestry of family life in Ireland. If you grew-up in a one-parent family in Ireland, including a separated and divorced family, we want to hear your story.”

Karen Kiernan, CEO of One Family

“The Ark makes art for by and about children, putting their experiences and their voices at the heart of everything we do. We are delighted to work, for the first time, with One Family on a new documentary piece by Kate Heffernan reflecting seldom told stories of growing up in Ireland.”

Aideen Howard, Director of The Ark

Kate Heffernan is an Irish playwright whose first play, In Dog Years I’m Dead was a winner of the Stewart Parker Trust Emerging Playwright Award 2013 and audiences at The Ark had a chance to experience her work when the wonderful Peat premiered there in 2019. She has been commissioned by The Ark and One Family to create this new work.

If you would like to share your experience you are invited to consider the following areas:

Did you grow up in a one-parent family – with your Mam, Dad, or a grandparent? Did you live part of the time with each of your parents? Did you grow up with a step-parent? Where did you live and who with?
What were some of the things about your family that you may want to share and celebrate? Do you have any particularly vivid or favourite memories from your childhood?
How do you think your childhood shaped the person you are or the life you lead today?
Was your childhood different to those around you because you lived in a one-parent family?
Would you be interested in talking directly to playwright Kate Heffernan, in person or by video call, as part of her research?

You can share your story in a number of ways:

You can share your story by filling out this form.
Submit a video or voice note, by emailing Kate Heffernan at participation@ark.ie.
Or post your response to Kate Heffernan, The Ark, 11A Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.

For Editors:

One Family:

One Family was founded in 1972 as Cherish and is Ireland’s national organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating. One Family provides support, information and services to all members of all one-parent families, to those sharing parenting, to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to professionals working with one-parent families. Children are at the centre of our 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. For further information visit: www.onefamily.ie

The Ark:

Established in 1995, The Ark is a dedicated cultural centre for children. We create opportunities for children, along with their families and friends or with their school, to discover and love art. We commission, produce and present work for, by and about children, from the ages of two to twelve years old. We do so in our architecturally award-winning home in the heart of Dublin’s Temple Bar, leased through a long-term cultural use agreement with Temple Bar Cultural Trust. We also work through our online channels, off-site and on tour in Ireland and abroad. Through our work with leading Irish and international artists children can enjoy performances in our unique child-sized theatre, view engaging exhibitions or participate in creative workshops. We also curate specific professional development opportunities for teachers and artists.

We work in partnership with others as artistic collaborators and regularly share our resources and knowledge with artists, educators and all those interested in child-centred arts practice. We also work with other likeminded organisations to advance children’s rights to art and culture as part of their learning and development. The Ark is dedicated to creating brilliant art experiences for children, schools and families.

The Ark gratefully acknowledges the continued support of its principal funder, The Arts Council, and its other annual supporters: the Department of Education, Temple Bar Cultural Trust and Dublin City Council.

Available for Interview:
Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 086 850 9191
Further Information/Scheduling:
Noel Sweeney, Communications and Events Manager | t: 085 7241294
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Thursday, 10 February 2022
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Government measures to address the Cost-of-Living Crisis have been described as ‘a missed opportunity’ by One Family – Ireland’s national organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating reacted to the Government ‘cost of living measures.’
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Karen Kiernan, CEO of One Family, said, “The cost-of-living crisis is having a disproportionately high impact on those who are already struggling. The measures announced this evening are a missed opportunity. By giving a little back to everyone instead of targeted resources at those most in need, the most vulnerable will continue to suffer. Right now, more than one in every four one-parent families are living in consistent poverty. This Cost-of-Living crisis is landing on top of families already in the midst of a poverty crisis.
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“One Family had urged the Government to choose targeted, sustainable measures, instead of short term, universal payouts. For example, the lump sum Fuel Allowance payment will help families struggling pay one, maybe two months’ bills; but extending the payable Fuel Allowance period to 32 weeks would have restored purchasing power for these families long-term. ”

Recipients of the Working Family Payment saw least gains in Budget 2022, with the €10 increase announced barely keeping a pace with inflation. Bringing forward this increase is a token gesture, when what these families really need is to be eligible for the Fuel Allowance. Such a move would have cost the Government approximately €43 millionbut would have protected the most vulnerable working families.

Low income families need a long-term strategy with targeted supports rather than piecemeal gestures, this is yet again, another wasted opportunity.
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For Editors:
One Family was founded in 1972 as Cherish and is Ireland’s national organisation for one-parent families and people sharing parenting or separating, offering support, information and services to all members of all one-parent families, to those sharing parenting, to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to professionals 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 0818 66 22 12, counselling, and provision of training courses for parents and for professionals. For further information, visit www.onefamily.ie. The askonefamily helpline can be contacted on 0818 66 22 12 or 01-6629212.
According to the latest EU SILC data published by the Central Statistics Office in December 2021, 21.6% of households headed by one adult with one or more children were living in consistent poverty in 2020.
For further information visit: www.onefamily.ie
Available for Interview
Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 086 850 9191
Further Information/Scheduling
Noel Sweeney, Communications and Events Manager | t: 085 7241294
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Our policy team have today made a submission to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on the EU Child Guarantee. To read the full submission click here
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Ahead of the Oireachtas debate on the motion to establish a Joint Committee on Gender Equality today (9th November 2021), civil society organisations have welcomed the setting up of this Committee and called on it to implement the recommendations of the Citizens Assembly on Gender Equality in full, prioritising a referendum to make the recommended Constitutional changes in relation to non- discrimination (Art. 40), the value of care (Art. 41.2. on ‘woman in the home’) and Article 41.3 on the Constitutional definition of the family.

The recommendations by the Citizens Assembly are ground-breaking and send a strong and clear signal to Government and all decision makers that gender equality needs to be at the centre of our Constitution, our legislation and our policies.

These recommendations come after long campaigns by civil society organisations to reform our constitution to reflect a modern Ireland with the value of equality at its centre.

Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council (NWC) said,

“We welcome and support the establishment of the Committee to discuss how we can best implement the comprehensive recommendations by the Citizens Assembly on Gender Equality. In particular, we call on the Committee to prioritise the necessary changes to our Constitution on women, the value of care and care work and on the definition of the family.

In line with the recommendations of the Citizens Assembly, we urgently need to replace the sexist and outdated wording of Art. 41.2 of our Constitution and replace it with wording that recognises the value of care within the home and the wider community.”

Karen Kiernan, One Family said,

“The establishment of this Committee on Gender Equality is very welcome to drive forward the implementation of the wide-ranging recommendations by the Citizens Assembly. The recommendation to recognise all forms of families in our Constitution, not only families based on marriage, will finally recognise the diversity of family life in Ireland and particularly provide status and recognition to one parent families.”

Organisations supporting this call include the National Women’s Council (NWC), One Family, Irish Council of Civil Liberties (ICCL), Children’s Rights Alliance, Treoir, Family Carers Ireland and Care Alliance Ireland.

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For more information, please contact Silke Paasche, Head of Communications, NWC, Tel. 085 858 9104.

Notes to Editor:

Full report on the recommendation of the Citizens Assembly

Recommendations in relation to the Constitution are:

Insert a new clause into Article 40 to refer explicitly to gender equality and non-discrimination.
Delete and replace the text of Article 41.2 (woman in the home) with language that is not gender specific and obliges the State to take reasonable measures to support care within the home and wider community.
Amend Article 41 so that it would protect private and family life, with the protection afforded to the family not limited to the marital family.

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Piecemeal budget fails to deliver for Ireland’s poorest families

Welcome moves as some inequalities for one-parent families removed while others are compounded

Press Release – One Family react to Budget 2022

October 12, 2021

Budget 2022 contained many measures to be welcomed but ultimately failed to deliver for Ireland’s poorest families. National statistics and numerous Government and independent reports have proven the link between one-parent families and poverty. This budget should have used the evidence and focussed on targeted measures to support the poorest families and loosen poverty’s grip on children. Instead, what we got was a giveaway budget that focused on headlines rather than solutions.

Karen Kiernan CEO of One Family said, “We welcome the measures such as the €10 increase in the Back to School Clothing & Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) for each qualifying child and we especially welcome that the income threshold for single parent households is now the same as that of two parent households; this is something we have campaigned for. The €5 increase in weekly social welfare payments and the paying of 100% of the Christmas bonus for social welfare will be welcome for families. While on the Carers Allowance, the income disregard increases for single carers and lone parents is to be welcomed too. We have huge concerns though, about the lack of supports for one-parent families in the rental sector while private landlords are supported, we see no help for these families. The investment in childcare is a welcome step on the road to a fully publicly funded system, but it’s imperative the additional funding makes access easier for low-income families.”

Niamh Kelly, One Family Policy Manager said, “We welcome some inequalities for one-parent families being removed such as changes to the BSCFA but we are concerned with others being compounded in this Budget such as with Parents Benefit. While an increase is welcome, one-parent families are still only entitled to half the leave of two-parent families. We can understand the difficulties of dealing with historical inequalities in an antiquated system, but this is an inequality that is newly introduced. We are also sceptical about the Fuel Allowance increase. The increase of €5 is below the basic rate of fuel/energy inflation. We would have preferred to see the payment period increase to 32 weeks to support families. Overall, this is a piecemeal budget that leaves many families in the cold.”

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Note to editors:

About One Family:

Statistics on one-parent families:

Source: Census 2016

1 in 5 people in Ireland live in a one-parent family.
1 in 4 families with children in Ireland is a one-parent family.
4% of one parent families are headed by a mother, and 13.6% by a father.
The number of one-parent families headed by a parent aged 15-34 has decreased, while the number of one-parent families headed by a parent aged 35+ has increased.
356,203 children lived in one parent families, representing more than one in five or 21.2% of all children in family units.
The average one parent family has 1.63 children compared to an average of 1.95 for the population overall.
The total number of divorced people in Ireland has increased from 87,770 in 2011 to 103,895 in 2016.This is an increase of over 44,000 people in the last ten years.

For further information visit: https://onefamily.ie/

Available for Interview

Niamh Kelly | Policy Manager

Further Information/Scheduling

Noel Sweeney, Communications and Events Manager | t: 085 7241294
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In 2020 there was a 20% increase in demand for One Family’s services for lone parent and separating families including 17% increase in demand for Parenting during Separation courses

Press Release

Ireland is facing a tsunami of separation and divorce following the pandemic and family law and support services are not prepared according to One Family – Ireland’s national organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating. The charity, commenting at the launch of its Annual Review for 2020, said demand for its specialised family support services dramatically increased in 2020 with a 20% rise in client services and a 17% increase in demand for its parenting during separation courses.

One Family CEO, Karen Kiernan said, “For many separated families the pandemic and lockdowns acted as a pressure cooker exasperating old grievances and increasing conflict. There was a huge increase in calls from parents in distress (68% increase in calls to the askonefamily helpline in Q2 2020 compared with the same period in 2019) as issues of relationship breakdown, access, guardianship and child maintenance coincided with reduced access to courts services; leading to increased conflict and mental distress. We worked to support parents and we provided information guides, advocated on behalf of parents, and brought all our services on-line affectively bringing our services to every county. But this demand for services, particularly our mediation and Tusla funded Separating Well for Children service, has meant services are now extremely stressed and we are worried about a future surge as families struggle with family breakdown.”

Geraldine Kelly, One Family Director of Parenting Services said, “What we found is that support services are there in local communities if you have a parenting issue or if you are separating amicably but if there is conflict, or legal issues, which is often the case, specialist services are very hard to find. Currently, we are receiving calls from support services across the country looking to refer families to us and we are trying to accommodate them. But we have limited resources and demand is so high. This leaves many families in crisis waiting longer than we would like. At the moment, we have with a six-month waiting list for Separating Well for Children and eighteen-month wait for counselling services; when your family is in crisis this is a long-time. Any delay can increase the level of conflict in the family and impact greatly on the wellbeing of children and parents.”

One Family CEO, Karen Kiernan said, “We need to see a commitment from Government to provide funding in local communities for separating families, people sharing parenting and particularly for those in conflict. There is a tsunami approaching which will have a knock-on effect on children and families unless we prepare now.”

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For Editors:

One Family was founded in 1972 as Cherish and is Ireland’s national organisation for one-parent families and people sharing parenting or separating, offering support, information and services to all members of all one-parent families, to those sharing parenting, to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to professionals 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 0818 66 22 12, counselling, and provision of training courses for parents and for professionals. For further information, visit www.onefamily.ie. The askonefamily helpline can be contacted on 0818 66 22 12 or 01-6629212.

Link to One Family Annual Review:

Two case studies of how One Family supported families during the pandemic:

For further information visit: https://onefamily.ie/

Available for Interview

Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 086 850 9191

Further Information/Scheduling

Noel Sweeney, Communications and Events Manager | t: 085 7241294

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Press statement

Tuesday 14, 2021
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One Family – Ireland’s national organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating have reacted to today’s Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission/ERSI report on adequate housing by saying they are shocked but not surprised by findings that less than 25 per cent of lone parents reported home-ownership, compared with 70 per cent of total population. The report also found that lone parents had higher rates of affordability issues (19 per cent) when compared to the general population (5 per cent) and were particularly vulnerable to housing quality problems such as damp and lack of central heating (32 per cent compared to 22 per cent of total population).
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Karen Kiernan, One Family CEO, said “Unfortunately we are not surprised by the findings of today’s report. Through our services we are hearing reports daily of parents living in substandard accommodation, being blocked from work due to HAP restrictions and waiting months on emergency accommodation. We are calling on the Government to urgently develop a family homelessness strategy, which includes targeted measures for one-parent families. We were disappointed that no provision for such a strategy was made in the Government’s Housing For All Strategy; this was a missed opportunity. What this report makes clears is Government must act now to protect children in one-parent families. Yet again we are asking them to use the evidence in-front of them.
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We agree with the UN Rapporteur Balakrishnan Rajagopal that the treatment of one-parent families in Ireland raises serious questions for the Irish Government and that they must act now. Thousands of children are spending their childhoods growing up in emergency accommodation – most of them living with one parent. We don’t want this to be the Mother& Baby Home scandal of the future – we must prioritise those most in need for housing and the Government must act now as the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing has said.”

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For Editors:

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One Family was founded in 1972 as Cherish and is Ireland’s national organisation for one-parent families and people sharing parenting or separating, offering support, information and services to all members of all one-parent families, to those sharing parenting, to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to professionals 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.
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Available for Interview:

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Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 01 662 9212 or 086 850 9191
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Niamh Kelly, Policy Manager | t: 01 662 9212
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Further Information/Scheduling

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Noel Sweeney, Communications and Events Manager | t: 01 622 9212 or 085 724 1294
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One Family is inviting people who are parenting alone, sharing parenting or separating to participate a focus group on the organisation’s strategy 2022-2025. We are asking parent to share their thoughts about the services and policy areas we should be focused on for the next three years. The focus group will take place online and will take approximately an hour and a half.

Focus group takes place on:

• Thursday, 9 September 10.30am

If you have any questions and/or are interested in taking part, please email: policy@onefamily.ie

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23 June 2021
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The CSO’s Pulse Survey May-June 2021 – Life at Home: Snapshot of Results shows hardship and discrimination continue for lone parents. Survey results show 68% of lone parents saying they are often under financial pressure while 41%* reported feeling lonely all or most of the time. While 48% of lone parents said they often experience judgemental attitudes or exclusion as a lone parent.
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Karen Kiernan CEO of One Family said, “Unfortunately these statistics aren’t news for us. In our work with parents, we see the barriers that are put in place for parents every day from housing, education, and social welfare to access to vaccination centres. It seems our society is designed for two-parent families and anyone outside of this is excluded.”
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“What is deeply saddening is that in the year of the publication the Mother and Baby Home Commission Report and the horrors that it revealed, 48% of lone parents still report they often experience judgemental attitudes or exclusion as a lone parent. Government needs to use the evidence in front of it to improve the lives of lone parents and their children in Budget 2022. They also need to change Article 41.3 of the Constitution on the definition of the family so that all families feel included in our society so any notion of stigma or shame is ended.”
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*Due to a CSO processing error, the loneliness figure was originally reported as 59% this has now been corrected to 41%. Link here.
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For further information visit: onefamily.ie
CSO Pulse Survey May-June 2021 – Life at Home: Snapshot of Results

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For Interview:

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Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 086 850 9191
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Further Information/Scheduling:

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Education is the key to unlocking quality employment opportunities for people parenting alone and sharing parenting, which has a crucial part to play in breaking cycles of disadvantage and poverty. One Family’s policy team has made a submission to the Higher Education Authority on the National Equity of Access Plan for Higher Education. To read our submission click here:

Children’s rights should guide family law reform.

Courts should be last resort for separating families, where there are no safety concerns.

Wednesday 2 June 2021

A webinar on family law reform has been told children’s rights should guide family law reform. The Building a Family Law System for Children webinar hosted by One Family, heard from national and international experts with panellists from the Department of Justice, Courts Service, academia from the UK and Ireland and a High Court Judge from Northern Ireland.

Dr Jan Ewing of the University of Exeter’s Law School and member of the Family Solutions Group which authored the report “What about me?”) said, “Ireland has the opportunity to learn from the experience and mistakes of England and Wales to create a world-class family law system centred on the rights, needs and safety of the child. Where there are safety issues, these must be prioritised and accessible, affordable access to legal advice and the Family Court are needed. However, in the absence of safety or other welfare concerns, court should be a last resort for parenting disputes. Instead, parents need access to information, advice and well-signposted support to help them to look beyond their relationship issues and toward the rights and needs of their child and the child’s right to have a relationship with both parents.”

Dr Stephanie Holt from Trinity College Dublin said, “In domestic violence the perpetrator targets the whole family. However, our family law system focuses on the perpetrator and immediate victim, failing to understand what it is like to be a child and live with domestic violence and abuse. In reforming family law we must challenge the myth that it is possible to be an abusive partner and a good father; this is simply is not true. Doing so however involves prioritising children’s voice and children’s rights and ensuring mechanisms are in place so the voice of the child is understood at every step of the process.”

Karen Kiernan CEO of One Family said, “We know from our work with families that they are often traumatised from going through the adversarial family courts and this can cause long-lasting damage to children. We strongly advocate for a Family Law Service Model to be developed alongside the new legislation to provide assessments, safety and family supports to families before and during court. When families separate or have issues that need to be agreed, the first responder shouldn’t be a solicitor – instead child-focussed, affordable supports should be available locally”.

Emer Darcy, Head of Family Law Reform, The Courts Service said, “The Courts Service is looking forward to continuing to collaborate with One Family as we progress with our Modernisation Programme to deliver better outcomes for all our users including children and families.”

About One Family:

One Family is Ireland’s organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating, offering support, information and services to all members of all one-parent families, to those sharing parenting, to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to professionals 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 askonefamily national helpline on 01-662 9212, counselling, and provision of training courses for parents and for professionals.

For further information visit: www.onefamily.ie.

- Report of the Family Solutions Group (UK) – What about me?

Services such as our Tusla-funded, Separating Well for Children project show the depth of demand that exists from people going through the private family law system. This project deescalates the conflict within the family using mediation, parenting support as well as creative therapies for children, allowing parents to put aside their own grievances and focus on the welfare of their children.

Available for Interview

Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 01 662 9212 or 086 850 9191

Further Information/Scheduling

Noel Sweeney, Communications and Events Manager | t: 01 622 9212 or 085 7241294

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Saturday, 15 May
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To mark UN International Day of Families, One Family – Ireland’s national organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating is calling for Article 41.3 of the Constitution on the definition of the family to be changed. The call comes following the publication of the recommendations of the Citizens Assembly on Gender Equality and the publishing of the Mother and Baby Home Commission Report.
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One Family/Cherish founder Maura O’Dea Richards said, “As a so-called ‘unmarried mother’ in 1970s Ireland, I felt the full weight of the Constitution on my shoulders as I struggled to raise my child alone against a system that sought to constrain us. I repeatedly saw women with no choice, who were forced to put their children up for adoption, go into Mother & Baby Homes or become homeless and outcast.
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This is why I founded Ireland’s first organisation for single parents, to change how Ireland treats it most vulnerable citizens. Now, while Article 41.3 of the Constitution has little practical impact on the lives of families – I believe it is a symbol. A symbol of discrimination and isolation. It tells families they are ‘other’ they are outside our community and society. This must end, all families are entitled to respect and protection. Discrimination against families who are not married must end. Never again will they be isolated and incarcerated. Never again will they be stigmatised and shamed. We need to tell the thousands of women and their children who were imprisoned in homes and adopted against their will that we see and acknowledge their pain and this will never happen again. We need to change Article 41.3 now.”
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One Family CEO Karen Kiernan said, “The recommendations of the Citizens Assembly on Gender Equality to “Amend article 41 so that it would protect private and family life, with the protection afforded to the family not limited to the marital family” provides a clear pathway for our political representatives and we are asking Government to set a date for a Constitutional Referendum on Article 41.3. We are today calling on parents, other NGOs and public representative to support our call on social media on Saturday 15 May using the hashtag #WeAreFamily & #FamilyDay to make Ireland a better place for all families.”
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For Editors:

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Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 086 850 9191

Further Information/Scheduling:

Noel Sweeney, Communications and Events Manager | t: 085 7241294
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Responding to the announcement of the results of the Citizens Assembly on Gender Equality One Family, Ireland’s national organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating, hailed the Citizens recommendations as transformational. It urged Government to act swiftly and set out a timetable for when the recommendations would be implemented.
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Karen Kiernan, CEO of One Family said,

“The recommendations from the Citizens have the potential, if implemented, to transform the lives of one-parent families and end decades of discrimination and stigmatisation for families where parents are not married. We particularly welcome the call to address the definition of the family in the Constitution, a call we made in our submission to the Assembly. One Family has campaigned for this change for nearly 50 years and, if implemented, it will give non-marital families equal protection under the Constitution.”
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“Article 41 of our Constitution has had a defining role in some of the most shameful chapters of the State’s history, facilitating the treatment of unmarried mothers and their children in various institutions. A progressive review of Article 41, bringing it in line with the European Convention of Human Rights, would not only give all families equal protection but also give symbolic reparation to the thousands of unmarried mothers and their children mistreated in Ireland since the foundation of the State.”
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We also welcome the call for changes to how children are cared for in Ireland, including; paid parental leave for the first year of life for all children and the introduction of a publicly funded, accessible and regulated model of quality of childcare together with an increase in State spending on childcare from its current level of 0.37 per cent of GDP to at least 1 per cent, in line with international best practice. One Family has long been calling for these changes, which will have a profoundly positive effect on the lives of lone parents and their children.
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Other positive recommendations from the Citizen’s Assembly include the call to move from system of minimum wage to a guaranteed living wage, ensuring social welfare payments support an adequate standard of living and addressing the specific needs of lone parents who are in receipt of social welfare payments with respect to education, employment and child care services.
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We now call on the Government to set out a clear roadmap to implement the recommendations and call with others for a Constitutional referendum in 2022.

Read more about the Citizen’s Assembly on gender equality here.
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One Family have made a submission to the review of the Student Grant Scheme – SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland). To read the submission including One Family’s recommendations for changes to the SUSI grant to improve access and administration of the scheme for one-parent families click here.

One Family, today launched 5 new, low-cost, on-line e-learning parenting courses. The new e-courses, which are on the organisations new e-learning platform, can be completed in the comfort of your own home, at your own pace and are specially designed for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and parenting post separation (separating). To view courses click here.

One Family’s Director of Parenting Services, Geraldine Kelly said, ” It’s so exciting to have these courses available to parents to complete in the comfort of their own homes and at their own pace. We know how much pressure parents are under especially with the schools still off and we hope the courses will support parents to overcome some of the challenges of parenting during lockdown and parenting through separation. While the courses are self-directed, we are still here for parents if they need further support.”

The e-courses are self-directed and include built in tutorials from One Family parenting staff. Courses include:

Parenting Through Stressful Times
The Skill of Clear & Direct Communication
Positive Parenting – For Changing Families
Family Communications – Coping With Family Life and Teens
Family Communications – Parenting When Separate

To view courses click here.

One Family, today, made a submission today to the Family Justice Oversight Group Consultation in the Department of Justice in relation to Family Law Reform. To read the submission please click here.

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Submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice in relation to the General Scheme of the Family Court Bill

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– February 2021
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One Family have today made a submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice in relation to the General Scheme of the Family Court Bill. To read our submission click here.
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One Family this week made two submission to the Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality and Integration in relation to the General Scheme of the Parent’s Leave and Benefit (Amendment) Bill.

The first submission was on behalf of One Family, that submission can be read here and the second was a joint submission with other NGOs (Barnardos , Children’s Rights Alliance , FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) , Focus Ireland , National Women’s Council , One Family , Society of St Vincent de Paul , SPARK and Treoir) as part of the National One-Parent Family Alliance, that submission can be read here.

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One Family issue a statement in reaction to the Mother and Baby Home Commission’s Report

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18 January 2021
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One Family, Ireland’s national organisation for one-parent families, today issued a statement on the report of the Mother and Baby Home Commission. In the statement One Family said they were shocked at the cruelties outlined in the report’s findings but not surprised given their years of work with mothers and families who have experienced unplanned pregnancy. To read the statement in full click here.
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One Family called for a number of actions in response to the report including:

Full, swift and appropriate redress for victims.
A call for all children who were born into Mother & Baby Homes or who were adopted to have full and appropriate information about their origins, birth families, places of residence, health or medical issues and more.
A call for an evidence-based and adequately resourced action plan to combat child poverty.
A Referendum on Article 41.3 of the Constitution to expand the definition of the family to provide rights and protection for all families including unmarried families and in particular unmarried mothers and their children.
The organisation also calls for symbolic reparation at a national level to recognise and celebrate unmarried families through a National Family Day where the State can work to remove the veil of shame and celebrate all families including non-traditional families.

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Budget fails to provide income security for most vulnerable families

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Budget 2021 was a missed opportunity to provide income security for Ireland’s poorest families. National statistics consistently highlight one-parent families as among the worst off in society and children in these families being particularly vulnerable to poverty and deprivation. Since 2016, there have been 12 major reports on lone parents and poverty all with similar recommendations. While Budget 2021 has some welcome measures; Government have not used the evidence available to them. Parents and children are struggling now and will continue to do so after this Budget. The Budget does little to help working lone parents keep their job if their children are sick and contains no targeted supports for one-parent families and nothing on childcare – the most pressing issue for working lone parents.
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Karen Kiernan CEO of One Family said, “We welcome that Government listened (even partially) to us and made necessary increases to the Qualified Child Increase (QCI) and Fuel Allowance. We are disappointed that the Working Family Payment (WFP) has not been adjusted to support people parenting alone although the increase is welcome. And we welcome the change to the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) though this will impact only a small number of parents. But we are concerned that Government is not using the evidence available and seems happy to adopt a scattergun approach rather than introduce targeted measures for the most vulnerable. Budget 2021 does nothing to lift families currently living in poverty out of it. It maintains the status quo; but the status quo kept thousands of children in poverty. We had hoped for a strategic and progressive vision of the future with targeted measures for the most vulnerable, what we got was a little for everyone.”
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“We understand the difficult decisions Government must make in the midst of a double threat of the pandemic and Brexit but Ireland’s most vulnerable families need targeted supports. We call on Government to use the evidence that is available.”

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Note to editors:

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About One Family:
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One Family is Ireland’s organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating, offering support, information and services to all members of all one-parent families, to those sharing parenting, to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to professionals 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.
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These services include the lo-call askonefamily national helpline on 1890 662212, counselling, and provision of training courses for parents and for professionals.
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Read One Family’s Pre-Budget Submission.

Read our Budget 2021 Factsheet.
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Statistics on one-parent families:
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There were 218,817 family units with children (of any age) headed by a lone parent (Census 2016).
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1 in 4 families with children in Ireland is a one-parent family (Census 2016).
1 in 5 people in Ireland live in a one-parent family (Census 2016).
356,203 children lived in one-parent families, representing more than one in five or 21.2% of all children in family units (Census 2016).
In November 2018, 14,349 One-Parent Family Payment recipients (39 per cent of all recipients) are in employment, and of 14,418 Jobseeker’s Transition recipients, 4,037 recipients work. The Working Family Payment is an important support for working parents; almost half of recipients are households headed by a lone parent.
The Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2017 (SILC) revealed that one-parent family households experience the most deprivation in Ireland. Almost 45% of lone parent households experience more than one form of deprivation.
55% of homeless families living in emergency accommodation are one-parent families, at any time.

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For further information visit: www.onefamily.ie.
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Available for Interview

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Further Information/Scheduling

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As the economy re-opens and people are called back to work, we are asking parents to complete a quick two-minute survey about their childcare concerns and whether they think it will impact their income/job security.

To fill out this anonymous survey click here:

We are looking to quantify parents’ concerns as part of the #ChildcarePreventsHomelessness campaign with Focus Ireland, Children’s Right Alliance, Barnardos Ireland, Treoir, FLAC, Dress for Success and the National Women’s Council of Ireland.

A report from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs states that lone parents are at increased risk of poverty. The report draws from existing data and literature to provide an understanding of what we know about the situation of children living in poverty. It also identifies the main risk factors for experiencing child poverty that can be used to inform future policy developments. A summary of the key findings in relation to one-parent families is outlined below.

Key Findings

In 2018, 26.7 per cent of children are at risk of living at or below the 70% poverty line, 15.8 per cent of children are at risk of living at or below the 60% poverty line and 7.4 per cent of children are at risk of living in deep poverty – at or below the 50% poverty line.
Children living in households headed by a lone parent have substantially higher levels of poverty than children living in other family structures.
Level of education and employment status play a significant role, and studies have shown that lone parents are less likely to hold higher education degrees and also experience higher levels of unemployment. This has a compounding effect that puts lone parents and their children at greater risk of experiencing poverty and deprivation.
Access to childcare services also plays a role, as households with children that do not make use of childcare services show higher than average rates of child poverty compared to households with children that use childcare.
Lone parent households are four times as likely to experience income poverty than coupled households.
Lone parent households are five times as likely to experience material deprivation and consistent poverty.
Lone parent households are more likely to experience financial exclusion. They are less likely to hold a bank account or have savings and have limited access to low-cost sources of credit.
The ‘Growing up in Ireland’ study found that levels of economic vulnerability were highest among lone parent families (and higher again for those with two or more children), primary caregivers under the age of 25 when the study child was born, and among primary caregivers with low levels of education.

As we can see, living in a household headed by a lone parent clearly influences the likelihood of a child experiencing poverty, particularly where the parent also has a lower level of education or a lack of reliable employment. This should not be the case, and these dynamics require more attention in the Irish context in terms of both policy and research.

Policy and Service Implications

While poverty among children has shown modest improvement since 2011, the current level of child poverty in society is unacceptable.

Some policy implications outlined in the report include:

Specific policy actions are urgently required to address child poverty and the variation in poverty risk across age-groups of children in Ireland. The findings presented here suggest that policy measures that were taken to reduce child poverty among very young children (0-5) were successful. This same commitment needs to be extended to all age groups of children and across all domains of children’s lives.
While socio-economic status and the employment situation of families has attracted considerable attention in policy and research circles, greater attention must be paid in the Irish context to how child poverty impacts one-parent families and how it operates along migration, minority ethnic, or racial lines.
The employment situation of the household and the education level of the parent or caregiver continue to be strong indicators of child poverty. There is need for policy development in the areas of labour market activation, and in-work benefits to determine their effectiveness in reducing child poverty. Research cautions that a work-first approach that seeks to alleviate poverty by moving people off welfare and into work as quickly as possible ignores the critical role that high-quality education and training play in achieving self-sufficiency, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Thus, room for educational development and training opportunities is essential in any welfare to work strategy.
There is a clear need to enhance access to affordable all-day childcare, particularly for low-income families.
It is well established that several policy mechanisms are required to produce a reduction in child poverty, involving policy that spans a range of Government Departments. A multidimensional approach to the reduction of child poverty will require continuing emphasis on a cross-departmental approach among departments that support public policies for families and children

The full report, Income, Poverty and Deprivation among Children – A Statistical Baseline Analysis, can be found here: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a1580-income-poverty-and-deprivation-among-children-a-statistical-baseline-analysis-july-2020/