Press Release | Urgent Reversals Required Before Drastic Cuts Foisted on Ireland’s Poorest Families

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Media Release, 8 December 2011

 

Urgent reversals required before drastic cuts foisted on Ireland’s poorest families

One Family, the leading national organisation for one-parent families, is extremely concerned at the cuts targeted at one-parent families in Budget 2012. Our thousands of members, clients and supporters are also very concerned and our national helpline has been inundated with calls from worried and angry parents.

We are instigating a national campaign to reverse these targeted cuts at Ireland’s poorest families and we call on supporters from all over Ireland and from every political background to support us. Legislation to pass Budget 2012 is going through the Dail on Friday (tomorrow) so there is a great urgency in this campaign. We have already contacted all Ministers and TDs.

The immediate impact of Budget 2012 on one-parent families is:

  • An additional €6 per week to be paid by parents towards rent supplement
  • A loss of €120 per year towards fuel costs
  • A loss of €50 per primary school age child and €55 for secondary school age child in Back to School Clothing & Footwear Allowance cuts
  • An increase in VAT, fuel costs, school transport costs as well as school capitation grants
  • The loss of €29.80 per child per week because of the cut in the two qualified child increases where the parent is on a Community Employment Scheme and One Parent Family Payment
  • New CE scheme applicants will no longer able to retain the One Parent Family Payment and their salary from their participation in the CE scheme
  • For the minority of one-parent families with three or more children, a loss of €228 per year for a family with 3 children and €432 for those with 4 children.

The activation measures announced in Budget 2012 have been designed to cut costs to the exchequer rather than support lone parents into sustainable employment and they will not work. Some cuts will actually disconnect lone parents from the labour market in direct contradiction of government policy. They will increase rather than alleviate high levels of child and family poverty for the following reasons:

  • We are in a recession and there are no jobs
  • There are no specialist supports to help lone parents engage with education, training and the labour market
  • The level of money in the Community Childcare Subvention scheme has been cut and there will be a €25 weekly contribution to costs from FÁS and VEC trainees for Childcare Education and Training Support
  • There is poor provision of after school care in Ireland
  • There is poor childcare provision in parts of the country
  • There is very little part-time or modular education
  • Budget 2012 has cut family supports through the Family Resource Centre programme and the Family Mediation Service at a time when more families are separating
  • Slashing the income disregard will result in increased poverty levels and a disconnection from the labour market
  • Education levels of many lone parents are low and they will require long term interventions to help them progress to degree level
  • Disincentivising Community Employment as a means of gaining training, accreditation, work experience and a salary will increase a disconnection from the labour market.

We demand the following changes to Budget 2012:

  • Devise an additional payment for the poorest children in Ireland to compensate for all the cuts to family income
  • Reverse the decision to disallow the payment of partial One Parent Family Payment to those on Community Employment
  • Maintain the income disregard at current levels for the foreseeable future at €146.50 per week
  • Develop appropriate supports and services in partnership with the voluntary sector to progress lone parents into sustainable employment and pause the lowering of the age limit for OFP eligibility until this is achieved
  • Prioritise the case management of lone parents in the new National Employment and Entitlements Service and ensure all supports for those on the live register are available to OFP recipients.

Here is the context in which one-parent families in Ireland live:

  • 65% of the country’s poorest children live in one-parent families
  • You are four times more likely to live in consistent poverty in a one-parent family than other families (SILC, 2010)
  • Those parenting alone were the most negatively affected by the previous budget, losing almost 5% of their annual income. This compared with just a 1.3% fall for high income married couples (TASC, 2011)
  • One-parent families were poor in the Celtic Tiger and remain so now
  • Low education levels (ESRI, Persistent at Risk of Poverty in Ireland 2011 and Growing-Up in Ireland 2011).

For more information contact:

Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager 01 6629212/087 2359515

Stuart Duffin, Welfare to Work Manager 01 6629212/087 0622023

Karen Kiernan, Director 01 6629212/086 8509191

One-parent families to suffer under today’s harsh budget

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5 December 2011 Media Release

One-parent families to suffer from today’s harsh budget

Ireland’s poorest families, particularly those parenting alone, have been abandoned by today’s budget and left to face the worst, according to One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families. As he announced today’s budget, Minister Howlin said  ‘…I believe that we have a duty to protect the most vulnerable in our society, and to provide the safety net of social protection in what are very extraordinary times. We must also get people back to work…’ One Family believes that, in the case of one-parent families, the Government has failed on both fronts.

Under the new budget, the upper age limit of the youngest child for new claimants of the One-Parent Family Payment will be reduced to 7 years on a phased basis. Karen Kiernan, One Family Director comments, ‘This means that, by 2014, lone parents of children aged 7 will be deemed available for full-time work despite the fact that we are in a recession, there are hardly any jobs out there and, even if there were, there is no comprehensive affordable childcare or after school care.’ Read more

Child Benefit cut is stealth tax on children

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MEDIA RELEASE: 22 November 2011

One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, say that any reduction in Child Benefit would be a blow to all middle-earner families, but for some families, in particular those parenting alone, it would be a further step towards living in consistent poverty. Read more

Please join us for Handel’s Messiah in Aid of One Family tonight 24 November – last night was amazing so don’t miss this opportunity

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Media release: 3 November 2011

Messiah Performance in aid of One Family 23 & 24 November

@ 8pm, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin 8. Tickets €28

One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, is delighted to announce that it has been chosen as the benefiting charity for this year’s performances of Handel’s Messiah by the Culwick Choral Society. With performances on 23 and 24 November at Dublin’s St Patrick’s Cathedral, all proceeds will go towards the askonefamily helpline for one-parent families.

Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family says, ‘Parenting is tough work, I know. But doing it all alone can be even harder. That’s where our askonefamily helpline comes in. We offer support to all members of one-parent families in need of help and information – or simply a listening ear. We have had a 20% increase in calls since the recession and are very thankful to Culwick for giving us this opportunity to raise funds.’ Read more

One Family Pre Budget 2012 Submission

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MEDIA RELEASE:

Budget 2012 must not create a poverty trap for

Ireland’s Most Vulnerable Families and their children

One Family, Ireland’s national organisation of one-parent families has launched its Pre-Budget Submission 2012. One Family recognises the pressures currently on the public finances but calls on Government to reframe its priorities in Budget 2012 to ensure that those already experiencing high levels of poverty and social exclusion are protected from any more cuts as a result of the recession. Read more

One Family Experts Train Bulgarians on Positive Parenting

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Media Release 7 July 2011

Irish experts on parenting for one-parent families bring those skills to Bulgarian families at risk, free of charge

One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, will train 20 Bulgarian NGO’s in Positive Parenting in Sofia from 11-13 July.  The training will prepare trainers to better support Bulgarian families in caring for their children.

‘Our Positive Parenting Training for Trainers is designed to support Bulgarian mothers and fathers to become even better parents,’ says Paula Lonergan, One Family Training Manager, ‘We are helping to reverse the sometimes challenging attitudes to parenting that previously existed in Bulgaria. Our training is all about encouraging parents’ strengths, rather than introducing a system of punishments or labeling those who have struggled to parent well in the past as irresponsible or weak. The training has extra support for people parenting alone or sharing parenting and families in transition. This is why it is so suitable and relevant to families needing support in Bulgaria.’ Read more

10% increase in demand for Welfare to Work services for lone parents announced in One Family Annual Report

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Media Release 30 June 2011

Following a HSE report earlier this week which found that over a third of women describe their pregnancy as a crisis pregnancy, One Family, the national organisation for one-parent families, announces a 10% increase in demand for its Welfare to Work services. The announcement is made in its 2010 Annual Report and Strategy, to be launched at The Coach House, Dublin Castle at 12 noon on Friday 1 July.

‘These Welfare to Work services support lone parents, some of whom have experienced a crisis pregnancy, into sustainable employment, ‘explains Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family, ‘Access to education and careers are vital gateways to move families out of poverty. Our courses show parents what is possible in their lives – and then support them to make the necessary changes to get there.’ Read more

Family Day enjoyed by hundreds of families at Iveagh Gardens

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INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE FAMILY CELEBRATED WITH FAMILY DAY PICNIC & FREE ENTERTAINMENT IN IVEAGH GARDENS

PICNIC HELD BY ONE FAMILY AND EBS BUILDING SOCIETY TO CELEBRATE FAMILIES IN IRELAND

Sunday 15th May, 2011 – Today is UN International Day of the Family, an annual celebration of the diversity of families and family life across the world. To mark the day One Family and EBS Building Society 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 mark the day.

Speaking about International Day of the Family, Aidan Power, Head of Marketing at EBS Building Society, said: “EBS is delighted to be partnering with One Family to celebrate International Day of the Family. 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 One Family on all their hard work in making today a huge success.” Read more

One Family responds to OECD report on children in poverty and stresses importance of Family Day 15 May

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Media Release 28 April 2001: One Family responds to OECD report on children in poverty and stresses importance of Family Day 15 May

The latest OECD report tells us about the wide range of family changes that are taking place across Europe and highlights that poverty in households with children is rising in nearly all countries.  One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, once again urges Governments to ensure that family support policies protect the most vulnerable. Read more

US Cultural Ambassdor gives talk at One Family, 6 May

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In association with the United States Embassy Dublin, One Family welcomes US Cultural Ambassador Dr Brenda Flanagan to Cherish House, Dublin 2

This is a unique experience to hear one of the US’s premier women writers

You are invited to join One Family on Friday 6 May from 10am until 12 noon to hear Dr Brenda Flanagan speak on Accomplishing your Goals as a Single Parent.

Known for her inspiring talks and her performance abilities, Brenda will weave in her experiences as a writer, so anyone with an interest in writing should attend. Places are limited so early booking is vital.

Brenda Flanagan was born in Trinidad in 1949, the twelfth of fourteen children in an impoverished family. Her father was a barman, her mother a laundress. Brenda recalls having a hunger for involvement with the wider world and dreamt of being a writer. She started writing poetry at the age of ten and by thirteen she was singing calypsos and earning money for it. However, at the age of fourteen she had to leave school to help support her family, by then only parented by her mother. She worked for a time in a factory, then was taken on as a trainee reporter of The Nation, the newspaper of the then ruling People’s National Movement led by Dr. Eric Williams. Read more