Child benefit hike 'disappointing' for one-parent families

The group representing single-parent families has said the €10 increase in Children's Allowance does not go very far towards helping raise the poorest families out of the poverty trap.

One Family's Candy Murphy said: "Our biggest disappointment is the low level of increase in the child dependent allowance, which is a payment geared towards addressing child poverty.

"The Minister for Social and Family Affairs has been telling us he's going to do something substantial in that area for the last three years, and while we do welcome the increase, we are extremely disappointed that for our people - one parent families - the increase is only €2.70 a week," she said.