Update on JAT following briefing at Dept of Social Protection

/in /by

One Family attended a briefing this evening at the Department of Social Protection to learn about the new scheme announced today that will be available to lone parents:  Jobseekers’ Allowance – Transition.

The scheme removes the requirement to be looking and available for full-time employment, but has particular conditionalities that must be met. The Department will be sending letters out to those who were previously expected to move onto Jobseekers’ Allowance in the first week of July. Local offices will not have full details of the JAT until next week.

To read additional information from One Family, including Q&A, please click here.

Anyone who has any questions regarding the upcoming transition, please call the askonefamily lo-call helpline on 1890 662 212.

 

One Family Delegate at Leuven Conference on Social Investment Package

/in /by

One Family’s Director of Policy & Programmes, Stuart Duffin, is attending the Conference on the Social Investment Package today and tomorrow at the Leuven Institute for Ireland in Europe, Belgium. A framework for policy reforms to enhance social protection, invest in people’s skills and capabilities, and support people as required throughout their lives is outlined in the package which was adopted by the European Commission on 2 February this year as part of the response to the fiscal and economic crisis.

Stuart, along with a handful of other non-governmental delegates from Ireland, represents One Family as one of the ‘actors’ in social investment, potentially affording the organisation a level of influence into how the Social Investment Package will be implemented in Ireland.

The Package will be presented to a target audience of Member States officials, elected representatives, civil society, social partners, the private sector and others during the Conference, leading to proposals for future joint actions in support of its implementation. Three key thematic elements of the package – investment, innovation and involvement – will serve as focus;

  • Investment: The Social Investment Package and its relevance to EU social policies in the future
  • Innovation: Why we need to foster Social Innovation and how we can put it into practice in the social economy and involving NGOs
  • Involvement: What vision of a social Europe do young Europeans want to see?

Speakers include José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission; Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council; László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion; and Joan Burton, Irish Minister for Social Protection.

To read and/or download a briefing about the Social Investment Package written by Stuart Duffin, please click here: One Family_Social Investment Package Briefing_April 2013.

Further information about the Social Investment Package is available here.

UNICEF publishes Report Card 11

/in /by

One Family is attending Taking Action to Fight Child Poverty and to Promote Child Well-being, a two-day conference in Dublin organised by Eurochild, European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland, UNICEF and Children’s Rights Alliance as part of Ireland’s Presidency of the EU.

Yesterday UNICEF published Report Card 11 naming Ireland as the 10th best developed country in the world for children to grow up, ahead of both the UK and the US. This report, launched by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald, is the culmination of research spanning ten years (2001-2010) and also shows a decade of steady progress for the nation’s children.

“However, this report card does not show the on-the-ground reality of austerity policies and practices which stem from Budget 2012 which are hitting the poorest families hardest,” said Stuart Duffin, Director of Policy and Programmes at One Family.

“Those at the top had the boom but it’s those at the bottom being made to suffer the bust and this particularly is the case for those parenting alone. We need to build and invest in the jobs, housing and childcare that will stimulate the economy and meet the needs of all families.

“If we don’t it will be shocking and dangerous in public policy terms, and also a catastrophe for the childhoods and life chances of so many of our children.”

At the conference, One Family has presented Investing in Children – Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage. Our 10 Solutions for Smarter Futures campaign sets out pointers for government to alleviate the impact of persistent and consistent poverty for those parenting alone. Learn more about 10 Solutions here.

The time for One Family’s ‘Ten Solutions Smarter Futures’ is now

/in /by

Almost half of the State’s children are living in households in receipt of social welfare, the Oireachtas Social Protection Committee was told yesterday.

Ita Mangan, Chairwoman of the group that recommended a two-tier child benefit system, warned that this is “worrying” and also told the committee that one in five children in the Republic of Ireland lived in a home where income was less than €20,000 a year. Labour TD Brendan Ryan noted that the lack of affordable childcare was a “major barrier” to single parents working.

One Family’s ongoing campaign Ten Solutions Smarter Futures clearly outlines why the current welfare system needs to be reformed. It is time for a system which lifts people out of poverty and treats everyone with dignity and respect. Responding to Ms Mangan’s evidence to the committee Stuart Duffin, Director of Policy & Programmes for One Family, highlights the benefits of  Ten Solutions Smarter Futures  and encourages TDs and Senators to agree its execution.

“Against a background of inaccurate and discriminatory media stories which too often demonise lone parents, the system increasingly focuses on blaming individuals for being out of work,” Mr Duffin said.

“Overall, welfare reform has resulted in gaps in provision, especially for those in precarious situations such as those parenting alone. Reforms are based on the assumption that those on welfare should move into employment, regardless of the existence, quality or sustainability of jobs. They assume that benefit recipients lack the motivation to work. Significant moral and ethical questions exist over the ability of large multi-national private employment agencies to profit financially when disadvantaged people find themselves jobs.

“Meanwhile the real barriers to employment such as lack of childcare, employer discrimination, below poverty level wages and the lack of jobs are not tackled effectively. Many lone parents are required to engage in work seeking activities, education and training despite inadequate childcare provision in some areas.”

Mr Duffin concludes: “The real challenge is to make childcare affordable for those at the bottom end, so that there are strong incentives for those parenting alone parents to continue or engage in employment and/or education. That would do much more to help reduce child poverty, and it would help our economic our recovery too.”

The current system is expensive to administer. It is time to stop tinkering with the system and make some fundamental changes which can be achieved through an area-based whole of government outcomes-focused tactic to reduce child poverty. Current policies and practice do little to address the inequalities that place lone parents in precarious labour market situations. There is an acute and urgent need for policies that:

1.         Guarantee flexibilities within JA,

2.         Prevent in-work poverty and create adequate incomes to ensure that no child experiences poverty,

3.         Support job retention,

4.         Guarantee affordable, flexible and high-quality childcare.

The families facing the hardest struggle, particularly those parenting alone, do not have the spending power businesses need to get back to growth and create new jobs. It would be far better for family welfare and business growth if families were at the frontline of economic stimulus. Countries that took this approach when the economic crisis started have recovered much more strongly.

Read more about One Family’s Ten Solutions Smarter Futures campaign here.

One Family reacts to new UK childcare provisions

/in /by

Budget 2013 has been delivered in the UK today. Responding to the UK government’s announcement that up to 85% of childcare costs for some low-income families eligible for Universal Credit (UC) will be covered from April 2016, Stuart Duffin, One Family’s Director of Policy & Programmes, said:

“UK government is recognising the high costs of childcare in the UK which acts as a significant deterrent for all families who want to get back to work or work longer hours. But this scheme would do very little to help the families that need it most, or to reduce child poverty.

“The plans announced are extraordinarily complicated, inadequately tailored and too far in the distance to provide comfort for families struggling right now. The new scheme is weighted heavily in favour of those on high incomes. With the UK economy still stagnant and child poverty rising, low income families need stronger work incentives now, not in three years’ time after the next general election in the UK.

“Accessing affordable childcare is a gateway to starting work for many parents and in particular those parenting alone. Restricting higher levels of childcare support under the Universal Credit to parents only when they are already in work reinforces the barriers in the crucial period of transition into work that universal credit sought to break down, so the danger is that only a smaller number of low-income families will actually benefit from this proposal.”

If Ministers Burton and Fitzgerald are following this One Family would recommend direct social investment in the provision of childcare, free at the point of demand. If the Irish government is not taking that option, we promote that other approaches should at least be tailored to low income families, and in particular to those parenting alone, rather than using the bulk of resources for wealthier families as is happening in the UK.