SIPTU Press Release: 13th November 2012
New figures from the
Department of Social Protection have shown a dramatic fall in the participation
rate of lone parents in Community Employment (CE) schemes, according to SIPTU.
Replying to a parliamentary question on 8th November Minister for
Social Protection, Joan Burton, confirmed that just 3060 lone parents were
working on such schemes to the end of September this year, compared to 4508 for
the same period last year - a drop of 33%. This fall follows cuts to payments
for lone parents in last December’s budget restricting them to a single payment
while on CE, and making no allowance for costs such as childcare.
The drop off in
participation by lone parents has had a particularly detrimental effect on
community childcare schemes, many of which are supported through Community
Employment.
SIPTU Community Sector
Organiser Darragh O’Connor explained: “Lone parents have played a major role in
the staffing and success of CE Childcare schemes, but this route out of welfare
and back to work has effectively been closed due to budget cutbacks. It is
ironic that in the wake of the ‘Yes’ vote in the Children’s referendum
affordable community childcare services are struggling to survive because of
these cuts.”
Reacting to the figures Stuart Duffin from One
Family, Ireland’s leading organisation for one-parent families said:
“Community Employment provided a gateway to work for many lone-parents. That
gateway has narrowed following the cuts in last year’s budget which saw the
poorest families and children becoming even poorer as a direct result of the ill-thought
out changes. The Government needs to support the engagement of lone parents in
community employment and help to make work pay for them and their families.”
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