Many lone parents this week received a letter from the Department of Social Protection about changes to their One-Parent Family Payment.

All recent research from the EU SILC report, to independent research such as TASC, Trinity College and the Governments own data has shown that lone parents are the poorest sector in our society, and most at risk of poverty

People Before Profit Councillor Gino Kenny said “Many one parent family’s will be struggling because of these new cuts.  The letters sent out this week by the Department of Social Protection has angered many parents and caused a lot of confusion. Cuts to the OPFP payment in Budget 2012 was brought in over a four year period.

“It is therefore shocking to parents when they receive a letter announcing another cut of €10 from their weekly payment. Lone parents working part-time or on a low wage this week were told of the additional cut in their earning disregard. Also for some others they face loosing their OPFP with the changes of 2012 to the qualifying age.”

“Despite the warning of inflicting years of poverty to one parent family households, this government disproportionately cut them more than any other sector in Irish society. As a Councillor you see the impact on what these cuts are doing to single parents and their children. The social consequences of these cuts can’t be measured by a faceless bureaucrat in the Dept of Finance. It all seems that Joan Burton’s fait accompli is to put single parents back to the economical and social margins of the past”