10 Solutions. No Cuts. Budget 2014.
Press Release
10 Solutions. No Cuts. Budget 2014.
(Dublin, Wednesday 18 September 2013) One Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families, calls on Government to recognise that today’s challenging environment has impacted hardest on the 215,000 one-parent families in Ireland today, with those living in lone parent households suffering more than twice the national average rates of deprivation. We call for delivery of our low and no-cost 10 Solutions for Smarter Futures to improve the well-being of all families and ask that every parent and guardian of a child in Ireland take a few minutes to support our call for 10 Solutions to make life better for everyone. Let the Government know what lone parents need by taking action for 10 Solutions.
Members of the public can take action by:
- Emailing their local TDs – visit www.OneFamily.ie to use the pre-populated email facility. This takes less than two minutes.
- Share the ‘10 Solutions. No Cuts.’ event on Facebook via onefamilyireland.
- Share on Twitter via @1FamilyIreland and #10Solutions.
- Ask family and friends to support the campaign for 10 Solutions and take action too.
Almost 56% of individuals from one-parent family households experience one or more forms of deprivation (EU-SILC 2011). With 87,586 lone parents in receipt of the One-Parent Family Payment and 36% of these working, the evidence confirms that lone parents are striving to improve their lives and those of their children, and to contribute in a meaningful way to society. Yet Budget 2012 penalised lone parents and added to their struggle while current legislature creates numerous pitfalls for lone parents returning to work and education.
Karen Kiernan, One Family CEO, comments: “We have seen austerity budgets land squarely on the poorest families and children but there are better ways to support lone parents into sustainable work that will lift them out of poverty. Government needs to make sure no more cuts hit vulnerable one-parent families and they need to implement our 10 Solutions which will help make work pay.”
Stuart Duffin, Director of Policy & Programmes at One Family, notes; “Pitfalls for lone parents who want to return to work and education include: lack of affordable child care; lack of available jobs; training courses at times that suit parents. Simple things; but all of which can close doors for lone parents. We call on Government to take the pressure off lone parents and prioritise parents’ needs by delivering our 10 Solutions.”
One Family puts children at the centre of its work and believes that every child deserves an equal chance and every family deserves the same opportunities towards a fairer future.
10 Solutions. No Cuts.
It’s that simple.
Notes for Editors:
- 1 in 4 families with children in Ireland is a one-parent family
- Over half a million people live in one-parent families in Ireland
- Almost 1 in 5 children (18.3%) live in a one-parent family (Census 2011)
- There are over 215,000 one-parent families in Ireland today (25.8% of all families with children; Census 2011)
- 87,586 of those are currently receiving the One-Parent Family Payment.
- Those living in lone parent households continue to experience the highest rates of deprivation with almost 56% of individuals from these households experiencing one or more forms of deprivation (EU-SILC 2011).
- The full 10 Solutions for Smarter Futures document is available to read here: https://www.onefamily.ie/professionals/policy-research/ten-solutions-for-smarter-futures/what-are-the-10-solutions/
About One Family
One Family was founded in 1972 and is Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families offering support, information and services to all members of all one-parent families, to those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and to those 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 lo-call askonefamily national helpline on 1890 622 212, counselling, and provision of training courses for parents and for professionals. One Family also promotes Family Day, an annual celebration of the diversity of families in Ireland today, with 10,000 people attending events this year on 19 May (www.familyday.ie). For further information, visit www.onefamily.ie.
Available for Interview
Karen Kiernan, CEO | t: 01 662 9212 or 086 850 9191
Stuart Duffin, Director of Policy & Programmes | t: 01 662 9212 or 087 062 2023
Further Information/Scheduling
Shirley Chance, Director of Communications | t: 01 662 9212 or 087 414 8511