For immediate release – Tuesday 12th May

One Family’s employability programme, New Futures, is at imminent risk of closure due to a lack of government funding. 

The Class of 2026 will graduate from the programme in Dublin today and without urgent government intervention, they will be the last in-person graduates of the programme, which has run for over 20 years.  
 

New Futures:  

• Has an average 75% progression rate for lone parents into education, training and employment.
• Has supported over 300 lone parents through the programme in the last 6 years alone.
• Provides an essential support for lone parents who are at high-risk of poverty and deprivation, but lack the self-esteem or skills to move from relying on social protection payments into education or employment. 
• Is a proven, evidence-based solution to a government priority of moving people from social protection reliance into employment, yet government have, to date, failed to fund it. 

 
After 20 years of relying on philanthropic and EU funding for its survival, One Family says New Futures will run out of funding in the coming months, unless government intervenes.  
 
Karen Kiernan, One Family CEO said: 
“We don’t understand the lack of engagement from government. Our New Futures Employability Programme is highly successful and gives lone parents the wraparound and individual supports they need to move into education and employment, which is not only a benefit to them and their children, but it also financially benefits the State.  
 
The government says they are prioritising child poverty, but why aren’t they funding New Futures? Supporting lone parents into high-paid, secure work is a critical, effective mechanism to address child poverty. Quick fixes won’t solve the record rates of child poverty. But funding for targeted, effective measures, such as New Futures, will. We need urgent government funding for this programme to continue and be available to all lone parents who need it across Ireland.” 

[ENDS] 
 
For more information, please contact Vicky Masterson, One Family Communications Manager on 083 447 0645 / vmasterson@onefamily.ie  
 
 
Notes to Editor 

1. 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 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. 

1. New Futures Employability Programme is uniquely designed for lone parents in Ireland, to support them return to education or enter the workforce. Participants benefit from expert personal development and career coaching, peer support, and access to One Family’s wraparound services, including parenting support and counselling. For more information about New Futures, head to: https://onefamily.ie/new-futures/