Protest calls for reversal of lone-parent payment cuts

A protest will take place outside Leinster House later, calling for the reversal of cuts to lone-parent payments.

More than 30,000 single parents will lose their entitlement to the allowance this July, as the government tries to phase out payments once children reach seven years old.

This afternoon's protest is being organised by the group Single Parents Acting for the Rights of Kids - or 'Spark'.

Spark spokesperson Louise Bayliss said the move will force single parents to make difficult decisions.

She said: "A woman I know personally will be down €76 a week in July when these cuts come through. She has a 15-year-old son (and) already works 20 hours a week. She lives in a deprived area.

"She has a choice to make - either accept the €76 reduction in her income and face poverty, or work the longer hours and leave her child unsupervised, roaming the streets in a deprived area."