Kenny defends imminent cut to single-parents social welfare payment
Enda Kenny has defended a controversial cut to a social welfare payment for single parents.
Under the planned changes, more than 30,000 parents will lose their one parent family payments from July 2. They will be moved onto jobseekers’ payments if their child is seven.
Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton said the changes were to get lone parents out of the poverty trap and into work. Instead of getting payments, families will be offered education and training supports.
Single parents who are working and have a child over the age of seven will see a reduction in the amount of hours they are allowed to work before receiving the payment.
The move has been planned for several years, but the Government said it would not kick in until extra childcare facilities were in place.
This afternoon, Enda Kenny said the cut would give single parents an incentive to take on more paid work.
He said: "We cannot allow a recovering economy to bypass thousands of families who are locked into jobless households.
"Those jobless households with children are at a particular risk of perpetuating a cycle of poverty that goes on from generation to generation."
