Ruling may be significant to one-parent families

A High Court ruling in an action by a separated father of four may have significant implications for the welfare entitlements of one parent families.

Among the court’s findings is that the Dublin man was wrongly treated as a single person for the purpose of considering his application for rent allowance.

The unemployed man, who has joint custody of his children under a separation agreement with his ex-wife, who lives in the west, won an order requiring the Department of Social Protection reconsider its refusal to grant him adequate rent supplement to allow him rent a home large enough to accommodate them.