Thousands of lone parents may be required to move from welfare to work under proposals due to be published by the Government early next year.
Under the plans, which have been under discussion for a considerable period of time, lone parents would be required to engage in either work, training or education once their youngest child reaches a certain age.
Government officials had settled on the age of seven or eight, but Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin said today this was too young and should be raised upwards.
More than 85,000 lone parents are reliant on social welfare as their main source of income. Official figures show that children in these families are at much higher risk of poverty than the rest of the population.
Ireland is one of the few countries which does not require lone parents in receipt of welfare to seek work or training.
The Minister signalled that her reforms may require lone parents on welfare to seek training or education, following the outcome of two pilot projects in Co Kilkenny and Coolock in Dublin.
"While participation [in these projects] was voluntary, the take up was low, which points to the need for a more active process in order to give lone parents the encouragement as well as the confidence to seek assistance and access to the supports that are available," Ms Hanafin said.
"There are many thousands of lone parents actively balancing their parenthood and work responsibilities. The challenge for us now is to provide the right supports at the right time to those lone parents who are welfare dependent."
The Government currently pays out about €900 million a year on the lone parents' allowance – or one parent family payment, as it is now known compared to just over €300 million in 1997. It pays a further €200 million in supports, such as rent allowance, to single-parent families.
Ms Hanafin said today early intervention was crucial to avoid lone parents falling into the poverty trap.
She was speaking at the publication this morning of Lone Parents and Employment: What are the Real Issues– a report compiled by One Family, a provider of family support services to one-parents families in Ireland.
Candy Murphy, the author of the report, said its findings highlighted a high level of motivation among lone parents on welfare benefits to participate in employment.
Almost 1,600 recipients of the One-Parent Family Payment were surveyed in response to government proposals to reform the allowance, which include making parents available for work once their youngest child reaches a certain age.
The report found 84 per cent of these surveyed were working, looking for work or in education or training.
Ms Hanafin said the report would prove useful for the Department of Social and Family Affairs as well as other Departments and agencies in relation to meeting the needs of lone parents.
Improving educational levels, up-skilling and getting help securing employment are all early interventions that give lone parents a route out of poverty, she added.
There are over 189,000 lone parent families in Ireland, with over 85,000 of those in receipt of social welfare support through the One Parent Family payment.
Ms Murphy called on politicians to continue with plans for reform but advised that a compulsory approach not be pursued.
“We strongly recommend that this activation process be voluntary, building on the strong motivation to work found in the study, and accompanied by a package of supports,” said Ms Murphy.
“These supports must include greater access to affordable, quality childcare for lone parents, the removal of the rent supplement poverty trap and support for greater access to education, training and qualifications, in order to succeed.”