One Family calls for change to the Parental Leave Act

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(Dublin, Tuesday 15 May) On UN International Day of the Family, One Family, Ireland’s organisation for people parenting alone, separating and sharing parenting calls on the Government to change the Parental Leave Act to give lone parents the same leave entitlements as two parent families.

One Family CEO Karen Kiernan explained: “While we warmly welcome the Parental Leave Act 2019 we are calling for Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, to change the provisions of the Act to give one-parent families the same leave entitlements as two-parent families.

“Our concern is that leave is to be non-transferrable between parents. So, while two-parent families can maximise the amount of time they spend with their babies, those who are parenting alone have only a limited period. We ask that the fourteen weeks of paid parental leave available to parents in a two-parent family is made available to a lone parent. This is in order to provide equal access for the baby to their parent in this critical time.”

Kiernan further comments: “Currently the only reference to transferring leave to an entitled parent in the Bill is where one parent dies, which means that the Scheme is recognising only one type of lone parent thus ignoring others. We call on the Minister to fix this anomaly.  There should be an exception made to the non-transfer rule for lone parents to other designated people and for the sake of their babies we are asking the Minister to make this change.”

Notes:

Read about the EU Work Life Balance Directive – http://www.coface-eu.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/COFACE-Families-Europe-Assessment-on-the-EU-Work-Life-Balance-Directive.pdf

About One Family

One Family was founded in 1972 and is Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families offering support, information and services to all members of all one-parent families, to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to those working with one-parent families. Children are at the centre of One Family’s work and the organisation helps all the adults in their lives, including mums, dads, grandparents, step-parents, new partners and other siblings, offering a holistic model of specialist family support services. These services include the lo-callaskonefamily national helpline on 1890 622 212, counselling, and provision of training courses for parents and for professionals.

Available for Interview

Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family | t: 01 662 9212 or 086 850 9191

Further Information

Noel Sweeney, Communications Manager | t: 01 662 9212 or 085 7241294

Event | Celebrating UN International Day of Families with the Family Day Festival on Sunday

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Today, 15 May, is United Nations International Day of Families. The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993.

Ten years ago, inspired by International Day of Families, One Family founded Family Day in Ireland. It takes place on the first Sunday following 15 May annually and is a day when we celebrate the family diversity that exists in Ireland. As an organisation which has worked with one-parent, shared parenting and many other diverse families for over 40 years, we know how important it is that all families have a day where they can celebrate and know that they are included. Family Day is for all children – whether living in a one-parent family; married family; with unmarried parents; with same sex parents; a foster family; extended family or friends; or any of the myriad family forms in society – so they can know that their family is valued and included.

In recent years, we have also celebrated this wonderful diversity with our annual Family Day Festival. In 2015, for the fifth year, the Family Day Festival takes place on Sunday 17 May from 11am-5pm in Dublin’s Wolfe Tone Square. It is a free, family-friendly day out with something for every member of the family to enjoy.

FDF_Brochure Cover_LRKaren Kiernan, One Family CEO, comments: “We are encouraging everyone to enjoy Family Day on Sunday 17 May. Although this is the fifth time we will run a big event in Dublin to mark Family Day, we know that it has special significance for many this year as we are hearing from parents in one-parent and other diverse families who feel judged and hurt by many ‘No’ campaign materials and media commentators in recent weeks. We are really encouraging families to take a break on Sunday and to come and relax with their family at our Family Day Festival.

We believe that families should be really proud of the hard work they do to raise the next generation of children in Ireland, and we would love to have as many people as possible come to celebrate their family and celebrate all families. If you cannot make it to Dublin city centre, then think about celebrating Family Day in your own home or locally with family and friends.”

The Family Day Festival offers lots of entertainment, music, magic, sports, Safefood‘s ‘Bring Back Play’, arts and culture for families with children of all ages. It’s great fun. It takes place on Sunday in the new location of Wolfe Tone Square in the heart of Dublin city centre beside the Jervis Centre, from 11am-5pm.

You can read or download the programme here. We hope to see you on the day and wish everyone a Happy Family Day!

One Family gratefully acknowledges DublinTown and Dublin City Council for their support of Family Day 2015. Full event information is on www.familyday.ie.

 

Press Release | Dublin’s Wolfe Tone Square Hosts Free Festival Celebrating Family Diversity

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Press Release

Dublin’s Wolfe Tone Square Hosts Free Festival Celebrating Family Diversity

Celebrate your family, celebrate all families.

Family Day Festival | Sunday 17 May 2015 | www.familyday.ie

(Dublin, Friday 8 May 2015) One Family – Ireland’s organisation for people parenting alone, sharing parenting and separating – celebrates the wonderful diversity of families in Ireland with its fifth annual Family Day Festival taking place on Sunday 17 May from 11am-5pm. Brimming over with free fun and festivities, family-friendly performances, games, workshops, story-telling and lots more, it takes place this year in the new location of Wolfe Tone Square in the heart of Dublin city centre.

Karen Kiernan, One Family CEO, comments: “Many people celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and of course these are important, but what’s different about Family Day is that it’s inclusive of all families. One Family has been working for equality for all families in Ireland since 1972. We founded Family Day, inspired by the UN International Day of Families on 15 May annually, so that all families whatever form they take have a day where they can celebrate. Family Day is for all children – whether living in a one-parent family; married family; with unmarried parents; with same sex parents; a foster family; extended family or friends; or any of the myriad family forms in society – so they can know that their family is valued and included.”

 This is a landmark year for families in Ireland.  With the groundbreaking, though not perfect, Children & Family Relationships Act passed and the upcoming Marriage Equality Referendum, there has been much recent media discussion about what the ‘best’ or ‘right’ kind of family is for children.

Karen responds: “We’ve worked with diverse families for over 40 years and our evidence reflects what reputable research also shows: what matters for children’s outcomes is not the form their family takes, but the quality of relationships they have at home. We created Family Day a decade ago to help raise awareness of how family diversity is a positive thing for society. We still have a lot of work to do as our Constitution does not yet acknowledge this reality, and many of the families we work with are struggling more than ever, especially now with the misguided reform of the One-Parent Family Payment being pushed through.  But Family Day is one day we can all get together and have fun. We invite all families to come along to Wolfe Tone Square beside the Jervis Centre in Dublin 1 to join in the festivities, or to get together at home, to celebrate their family and all families on Sunday 17 May.”

One Family gratefully acknowledges Dublin Town and Dublin City Council for their support of Family Day 2015. Full event information is on www.familyday.ie.

TICKETS

This is an un-ticketed, free event.

LISTINGS

Sunday 17 May | Family Day Festival presented by One Family in celebration of family diversity | Family-friendly fun for all ages: magic, music, games, story-telling, arts & crafts, and lots more! | Wolfe Tone Square, beside Jervis Centre, Dublin 1 | 11am-5pm | FREE | www.familyday.ie / 01 662 9212

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About One Family

One Family was founded in 1972 as Cherish and is Ireland’s leading 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 1890 66 22 12, counselling, and provision of training courses for parents and for professionals. One Family also promotes Family Day and presents the Family Day Festival every May, an annual celebration of the diversity of families in Ireland today (www.familyday.ie). For further information, visit www.onefamily.ie.

Available for Interview

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

Further Information and Images

Shirley Chance, Director of Communications | t: 01 662 9212 or 087 414 8511

Photos released by Paul Sherwood on 07.05.2015.

 

Nice Bucket Challenge

One Family Nice Bucket Challenge

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Our CEO Karen was nominated by her son Cuán to do the Nice Bucket Challenge for One Family!

NiceBucketChallenge_Cuan and Karen_29.08.14

How does it work? 

  1. Record your Nice Bucket Challenge, share it and nominate your friends or family members.
  2. They have 24 hours to record a video of them being drenched in NICE water – at room temperature or luke warm (because lots of children told us they want to take part but icy water may not be so good for little ones *) – and share it on their social media #nicebucketchallenge.
  3. They can make a donation to One Family by texting FAMILY to 50300.
  4. They can then nominate 3 friends to take the Nice Bucket Challenge.

So what makes it nice? By nominating someone, you’re promising to also give them a nice surprise when they complete the challenge. This can be a card you make for them, a letter you write, a little present of their favourite bar of chocolate or treat, or you could do something nice for them like make them a cup of tea or wash the dishes. It’s a way to celebrate our family and friends by reminding them that they’re cherished.

One Family’s vision is an Ireland where every family is cherished equally and enjoys the social, financial and legal equality to create their own positive futures. We founded Family Day and celebrate family diversity with the Family Day Festival every year.

Text FAMILY to 50300 to donate €4 to One Family.

100% of text cost goes to One Family across most network providers. Some providers apply VAT which means a minimum of €3.26 will go to One Family. Service Provider LIKECHARITY 01 443 3890.

Watch Cuán and Karen’s Nice Bucket Challenge on our Facebook page here.

* Remember – safety first. Never leave children unsupervised around water.

 

Enjoy our Happy Family Day Video

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Our annual Family Day Festival took place on Sunday 18 May in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens. Despite the heavy rain, we had a brilliant day with wonderful singers, musicians, poets, performers, sports, storytelling and puppet shows to entertain us, excellent workshops, and information from a variety of family focused and cultural organisations.

View this short Family Day Festival video for a real flavour of the day. It’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face and get your toes tapping.

Thank you to videographer Ger O’Donnell; and thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers, performers, participating organisations, staff and production crew for making the Family Day Festival 2014 such an enjoyable and positive celebration of the diversity of families in Ireland today. Thank you also to the Community Foundation for Ireland and Dublin City Council for their support; to Today FM; and to the OPW for kindly providing the Iveagh Gardens. We are already looking forward to Family Day Festival 2015.

There are many ways to get involved in the Festival including sponsorship opportunities. If you or your organisation would like to find out more, please email us or call 01 662 9212.