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Children in One-parent Families the Real Victims of Budget

One Family, the leading provider of specialised support services for one-parent families in Ireland today, 7th December 2010, gives its response to Budget 2011. At a time when cutbacks were inevitable One Family had called on the Government to protect those already experiencing high levels of poverty and social exclusion from any more cuts.

‘But today’s many cuts – coupled with increases in taxes to be paid by those on low incomes – will have a devastating effect on one-parent families, many of whom are already living in poverty and struggling to combine work and caring responsibilities. In the absence of any clear jobs strategy the government has clearly not met its commitment to protect the most vulnerable from the effects of the crisis,’ says Candy Murphy, Policy Manager, One Family. Read more

One-parent families to suffer under planned cuts

One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, warns that any of the planned cuts in social welfare payments or in the minimum wage announced in the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 will directly increase the thousands of one-parent families already living in poverty. Read more

One-parent families faced with poverty

One Family , the leading provider of specialist support services for one-parent families in Ireland today expresses its concern that lone parents on welfare will face further cuts in their income as a result of Budget 2010. One-parent families are already experiencing four times the level of poverty found in the general population and the measures introduced today along with those introduced in the last two budgets will , in One Family’s view , increase this inequality. Read more

One Family Policy Manager Candy Murphy to speak at Press Conference Thursday 26 November

Invitation

‘1 million reasons to oppose cuts to Child Benefit’

Representing all elements of family life in Ireland today and jointly opposed to any cuts or changes to Child Benefit in Budget 2010; OPEN, One Family, PACUB, the Children’s Rights Alliance and the National Women’s Council of Ireland invite you to a joint Press Conference on Thursday 26th November, 2009.

Speakers:

Frances Byrne, Director, OPEN
Candy Murphy, Policy & Campaigns Manager, One Family
Treasa Dovander, Founder, Protest Against Child Unfriendly Budget (PACUB)
Maria Corbett, Policy Director, Children’s Rights Alliance
Orla O’Connor, Head of Policy, National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) Read more

Budget 2009 Press Release

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES FACE THE FUTURE WITH FEAR NOT HOPE

One Family, the leading provider of specialist support services for one-parent families in Ireland, today calls on the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Mary Hanafin T.D., to ensure that the most vulnerable families are not forced to pay further for the excesses of others.
One Family believes that Budget 2010 has the potential to destroy all the positive work that lone parents, their representatives and state agencies – including the Minister’s own Department – have done to reduce poverty and improve the prospects of one-parent families in Ireland. Such families are already poorer following the last budget, and have less hope of accessing education, training and employment than they had a couple of years ago. Such families are already having to watch opportunities for their children decrease and are now faced with the prospect of also losing many of the services that provide vital supports for them in their local communities. Read more

Pre-Budget Submissions

Pre-Budget Submisson 2012

One Family’s Pre-Budget Submission to the Department of Social Protection

One Family pre-budget 2012 submission

                                                                                                                   

 

Submission to:  Department of Social and Family Affairs

Pre-Budget Submisson 2011

Introduction

One Family is again framing its submission in a way that takes account of the serious economic downturn currently being experienced in the economy and in recognition that, while short term financial problems must be a key concern, The Department of Social Protection, supported by other Departments, should:

  1. Base all decisions on the premise of not increasing poverty among one-parent families
  2. Develop and implement a coherent strategy to reduce child poverty which is strongly and increasingly concentrated in one-parent families
  3. Ensure that proven supports to assist lone parents to secure and/or progress into employment, education and skill development pioneered to date by FAS and the Department of Social Protection in partnership with One Family are maintained and built  on
  4. Ensure that existing supports to assist families going through crisis pregnancy, marriage and relationship breakdown and new family formations are not dismantled
  5. Build on positive supports for families and children already in place, e.g the universal free preschool year.

One Family 2011 pre-budget submission sent 21 09 10

Pre-Budget Submission 2010

Introduction

The 2010 pre-budget report has framed its submission around the economic downturn. One-parent families are facing increased financial and other pressures due to the cutbacks already imposed by Government in the earlier budget in 2009 and in the 2008 budget. These cutbacks already seriously affecting one-parent families include:

  • Reductions in Rent Supplement and increases in rent contribution required by the tenant
  • Removal and reductions in payments for children – removal of the Early Child Care Supplement and Child Benefits cuts for 18 year olds
  • Removal of the Christmas bonus for those on welfare
  • Exclusion of those on the One-Parent Family Payment from many of the new training and education initiatives introduced by FAS
  • Cutbacks in education grants – often in the middle of courses
  • Cutbacks in support for schools and for school children in low income families.

One Family 2010 pre-budget submission 15 10 09 tk

Pre-Budget Report 2009

Introduction

This report has framed its submission in a way that takes account of the serious economic downturn currently being experienced in the economy and of the expectation, as forecast by the ERSI in its latest Medium Term Review, that the economy will soor return to a long-term growth path.

One Family 2009 pre-budget submission 11 September 2008

Pre-Budget Submission 2008

Introduction

This report has framed its submission around the 3 main areas indentified in the National Economic and Social Council report on the Development Welfare state (NESC Report No.  113.  May 2005)

These areas are

  • Income Adequacy
  • Services
  • Innovation

One Family pre-budget submission October 2007

Pre-Budget Submission 2007

Introduction

One Family welcomes this opportunity to submit our pre-Budget submission to the Department of Social and Family Affairs. This year we are framing our submission around the ten areas that we believe are vital to addressing the inequalities experienced by one-parent families in Ireland today.
Pre-budget-submission 2007-PDF

Pre-Budget Submission 2006

One Family welcomes the opportunity to make this submission in advance of Budget 2006. One Family has designed its pre-budget submission in the knowledge that the Government is considering significant developments in  the area of support for solo parents and for childcare in Ireland. The submission is also made in the context that solo parents are increasingly  Achieving Equality and Social Inclusion for All in Ireland disadvantaged as a group in Ireland in terms of poverty levels, social welfare dependency and access to services that help address these issues.

Pre-budget-submission-2006-PDF