Number of teen mothers 'same as 30 years ago'

THE number of teenage mothers is no greater than it was 30 years ago, a campaign group for single parents said yesterday.

Frances Byrne, director of the One Parent Exchange Network (OPEN), said the number of teenagers having children had remained at around 5% of all births.

In 2002 when there were 60,521 births, 3,041 were to teenagers. In 1973 when there were 68,713 births, 3,048 were to women under 20 years.

What has changed dramatically over the years, however, is the proportion of married teenage mothers. In 2002, of the teenagers who gave birth 2,780 were unmarried, compared to 757 in 1973.

Ms Byrne was responding to a claim by a top academic that State benefits might be encouraging young people to get pregnant.

President Emeritus of the University of Limerick Dr Edward Walsh believes that the State has gone further than it should in supporting lone parents.

Ms Byrne said Dr Walsh had not produced the facts and figures to back up his argument.

"I would not advocate that teenagers get pregnant. Thankfully, when they do we no longer hide them away in places like the Magdalene Laundry or force them into marriage," she said. "And, if more young women are making such a life choice and condemning themselves and their children to poverty, we would like to know why," said Ms Byrne.

"We can't have someone of the standing of Dr Walsh coming out and saying things that are just not true," she said.

Ms Byrne said Dr Walsh was perpetuating myths about lone parents.

"Most lone parents have been married before; have one child and are in their late 20s or early 30s." Also, most births were to cohabiting couples.

She also accused Dr Walsh of having a go at the most vulnerable families in society.

Referring to an EU Survey on Income and living Conditions by the Central Statistics Office that confirmed that one-parent families are three-and-a-half times more likely to live in poverty than anyone else in Ireland, Ms Byrne said: "That's what we need to have a debate about."

In 2002 there were 92,573 one-parent families in the State in receipt of social welfare supports.

Over 60% of the 79,195 who were in receipt of the one parent family payment had one child and just over 2% were under 20 years of age.

"I have no doubt that there are 19-year-old mothers of three children in the State but there are very few of them," she said.

One Family spokeswoman Anne Bowen said research published late last year by social researcher Dr Kieran McKeown showed that the well-being of children was not affected in four family structures studied, including one-parent families.

What mattered for the child was not what type of family they grew up in but how they were parented and the quality of the interactions and relationships within the household, she said.

Lone Parent payments:

Current maximum one parent family payment is €168.20 a week (with one child), plus child benefit of €130.60 a month (€141.60 from April 2005).

A person with earnings of up to €146.50 per week may qualify for a full payment but a reduced payment may be payable if they earn between €146.50 and €293 per week.

Up to 50% of maintenance received may be disregarded under the means test.

Parents are also entitled to claim a fuel allowance and the back to school clothing and footwear allowance.

Ruth's story:

'I could barely put food on the table and pay the bills'

RUTH (not her real name) was 24 when she became a single mother 17 years ago.

Two years after the birth of her child she was forced to give up her full time job because of the difficulty of getting affordable childcare.

"I was lucky enough to be given a council house but I found that I was barely able to put food on the table and pay the bills," she said.

Ruth, who also has a six-year-old son, said the children's allowance made it just about possible for her to make ends meet.

"I was living on the breadline until I joined a local Community Employment scheme three years ago. The change was dramatic because I got an extra €190 a week."

The CE scheme also provided her with affordable childcare during the school holidays.

While the CE scheme has boosted Ruth's self-esteem she believes it will not be enough to provide her with the break she desperately needs to get a full-time job.

"If I end up on the unemployment list for 12 months I will end up exactly where I started," she said.

Ruth lives in the south-west Dublin suburb of Tallaght and believes that some teenagers do see lone parenting as an easy way of making money and eventually getting their own house.

"The support is there for people who want to make something of their lives but, sadly, some young people don't seem to want it. They just want a good time," said Ruth.

"If they end up like me they will quickly find just how hard life can be."