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Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2011 finds lone parent households are most deprived

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The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in Ireland for 2011, a household survey covering a broad range of issues in relation to income and living conditions.

These new figures show that lone parent households are the most deprived, with 56% classified as deprived. According to the survey, 232,000 children are at risk of poverty, which represents 18.8% of all children in Ireland, a slight increase from 18.4% in the previous year. One in seven of those at risk of poverty has a job, according to the statistics, and over half (50.7%) of the population would be at risk without social welfare payments.

Responding to the findings, Stuart Duffin, One Family’s Director of Policy & Programmes, said: “The urgent problems today are the growing number of families making the difficult choice between heating and eating, or getting sucked into the spiral of rent arrears, pay day loans and debt. A central focus on family incomes has to remain, alongside a step change in government strategy on living wages, affordable housing and affordable childcare so that more families can balance their budgets and give their children decent life chances.”

Stuart Duffin further commented: “One Family hopes that Ministers will now take a robust evidence informed approach to policy and start providing income security and making work pay for those families and children in most need.”

Read the CSO press release here. Further analysis by The Irish Times can be found here: Quarter of population classified as deprived | Unravelling the facts, and myths, of Irish inequality | Record numbers in poverty, CSO

 

 

Join us to celebrate our 40th!

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One Family is 40! We used to be called Cherish and we’d love everyone who has been involved over the years – clients, staff, supporters – to join us  for a big celebratory event in Dublin’s Pillar Room on the evening of Thurs 18 Oct. We will be recalling the past, with some of the founder members of Cherish, and looking to the future as One Family.  Places are limited and will be strictly by invite only so if you’d like to come RSVP by Monday 1 Oct 01 662 9212 or info@onefamily.ie

 

One Family’s Sherie de Burgh to give masterclass on challenges around unplanned pregnancy

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One Family Counselling Coordinator Sherie de Burgh will be delivering one of a series of masterclasses aimed at giving professionals in-depth knowledge and skills to resource them in managing the challenges that present around unplanned pregnancy. The masterclasses are being organised by the Deptartment of Adult and Community Education, NYU, Maynooth. Applications will be taken on a first come first served basis for all classes and early booking is advisable. The first class is at the end of September. See the link below

Masterclasses 2012

Thousands Celebrate Family Day in Iveagh Gardens

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INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE FAMILY CELEBRATED WITH FAMILY DAY PICNIC & FREE ENTERTAINMENT IN IVEAGH GARDENS
 
THOUSANDS ATTEND PICNIC HELD BY ONE FAMILY AND EBSTO CELEBRATE FAMILIES IN IRELAND
 
Sunday 13th May, 2012 One Family and EBS 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 celebrate family diversity in Ireland.

Speaking about Family Day, Doireann Sweeney of EBS said: “EBS is delighted to be partnering with One Family to celebrate International Day of the Family for the third year in a row. 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 everyone on all their hard work in making today a huge success.”

Today, families were invited to a free day of fun in The Iveagh Gardens and were encouraged to bring picnics to enjoy together. Activities ncluded arts and crafts workshops, fun sports for all the family, story telling, face painters, drama workshops, magicians and other live entertainment. Those who couldn’t make the picnic were encouraged to host their own fun event. Hundreds of children entered the Family Portrait competition – by simply drawing or painting their family portrait. The prize is €500 and the competition remains open until 31st May – all details on www.familyday.ie.

Karen Kiernan, Director of One Family, the national organisation for one-parent families, said: “We are passionate about Family Day because it can be a positive life-affirming event for children in all families but particularly those in diverse families. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are international institutions but they do leave out lots of children every year and they can cause awkwardness and exclusion despite the best efforts of parents and teachers. However the concept of Family Day is so broad that everyone should be able to see themselves reflected in the notion of family no matter what size or shape their family is. Even for those children who may not be living in their family of choice or birth, we hope that they can find something positive and celebratory in Family Day.

*Terms and conditions apply

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For further information contact:
Hilary Fennell, One Family, 087 2359515

Suzanne Sullivan, Q4PR, 01-4751444/086-3797291
 
Notes to editors:
 
UN definition of the family: “any combination of two or more persons who are bound together by ties of mutual consent, birth and/or adoption or placement and who, together assume responsibility for, inter alia, the care and maintenance of group members, the addition of new members through procreation or adoption, the socialisation of children and the social control of members”.

For more information on UN International Day of the Family see www.un.org/esa/socdev/family/IDF.html

About One Family:
One Family is Ireland’s leading organisation providing specialist support services for people parenting alone and sharing parenting. Services include parenting and skills training, counselling, parent mentoring and a national helpline askonefamily which can be reached on 1890 66 22 12 or www.onefamily.ie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ciara Conway, TD, launches Ten Solutions campaign in Leinster House

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One Family launches its Ten Solutions for Smarter Futures for lone parents in Leinster House today

Media Release, 2 May 2012, At today’s launch of ‘One Family – Ten Solutions – Smarter Futures’ campaign, Ciara Conway, TD for Waterford and Vice Chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Health, Children and Youth Affairs said, ‘This campaign is a solutions focused approach to Budget 2012. It addresses ten challenges faced by lone parents, and gives us the first concrete steps to take towards delivering services which connect and empower them around education, work and independence. We acknowledge the challenges ahead but are prepared to tackle them and Minister Burton has the determination and will to succeed.’

‘Ten solutions – Smarter Futures’ outlines proposals that will enable Government to help reduce inequality and improve the wellbeing and life chances of those parenting alone. Stuart Duffin, Welfare to Work Manager at One Family, explains, ‘This goal towards a more equal State, where lone parents and their children are better equipped to succeed, has political consensus and increasing public support,’ he continues, ‘we recognise that budgets are strained, which is why we have come up with low-cost or cost-neutral solutions to improving the lives of one-parent families.’

Some of the suggestions in ‘Ten solutions – Smarter Futures’ include:

Flexibilities: lone parents who move to Jobseeker’s Allowance should only be required to work for 15 hours per week during school terms. This would help address many of the child protection concerns around seven year olds being left on their own. Flexibilities also take into account a lack of childcare or transport, having to cope with a child with a disability or with a separation or a bereavement, and so on.

Education and Training: development and promotion of a wide range of part-time, modular education and training from all public providers. A range of programmes need to start later and finish earlier to allow parents to look after their children.

Progression Opportunities: ensure equality of opportunities for lone parents in the work place. Permit One-Parent Family Payment recipients to participate in all activation programmes. Support the promotion and up-skilling of lone parents.

Stuart Duffin continues, ‘‘One Family – Ten Solutions – Smarter Futures’ helps to lay the foundations for a fairer, more equal society, by addressing some of the challenges faced by lone parents and their children. For thirty years, trickle-down economics have divided Ireland by yielding significant wealth for a few, but leaving others by the wayside. There is wide public support for a different way of organising our affairs – this is the Government’s opportunity to deliver on a undertaking that can radically change children’s lives – and to create a welfare to work system which empowers lone parents.’

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For more information contact Hilary Fennell, Communications Manager, One Family, 01 6629212