Supporting Financially Vulnerable Families
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
- Reinstate the supports for one-parent families in order to address the current high rates of child poverty.
- At a minimum, social welfare payments and the associated secondary payments should not be cut or reduced.
- Extend FIS to lone parents in receipt of Jobseekers Transitional Payment subject to certain criteria.
- Review working hours eligibility of FIS to align it with current trends on part-time working arrangements.
- Introduce additional interim measures for lone parents in part-time employment who cannot increase their hours to avail of FIS.
- Allow for flexibility in the payment of FIS in the event of changes of income or working hours for short periods.
- Apply the same Income Limits for the Back to School and Footwear Allowance to lone parents or couples (similar to FIS).
- Extend the eligibility of the Widowed or Surviving Civil Partner Grant to cohabitants and to other surviving guardian who have one or more dependent children living with them
- Monitor rent supplement allowance limits every six months in areas of high demand and adjust accordingly
- Allow people who transfer from Rent Supplement to the Housing Assistance Payment to remain in the social housing list, which is a disincentive if there are concerns about longer-term security of tenure.
- Reinstate Bin Waiver Schemes for One Parent Family Payment recipients
- Grant lone parents in full-time education the Back to Education Allowance without discretion
- Review the eligibility rules of the SUSI grant to better facilitate lone parents’ care duties.
- Introduce a single childcare subvention scheme for single parents who need childcare for children aged up to 12 years in order to participate in education, training and work.
- Introduce additional good quality after-school childcare to support lone parents.
View Treoir’s Pre-Budget Submission 2007