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.”

/End/

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