Campaign groups vow to fight one-parent family cutbacks

Published: Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Lone parents are being attacked out of the blue and new social welfare rules which will see the one-parent family payment paid only up to the age of seven will be "opposed vehemently", campaign groups say.

By 2015, all lone parents claiming the one-parent family payment will only get it for children until they are seven, down from 18 prior to 2011.

Labelled "regressive and counterproductive", and the worst thing to ever hit lone parents, three organisations -- Open, Barnardos, and the National Women's Council of Ireland -- said they will "fight" to remove the measure from the Social Welfare Bill.

From May, the age limit for getting the payment will reduce to 12, for all new claimants.

This will further reduce to age 10 in 2013, and to age seven by 2014.

The department pointed out that the reduction in age is being applied on a phased basis and will not affect existing claimants until 2013.

Frances Byrne, director of Open, which represents lone-parent groups, said the regressive move will increase poverty for lone parents and their children, who have already been hit by the cuts in Budget 2012.

Click here to read the full article from the Irish Examiner....