Job facts don’t add up

THE budget cut in the lone parent allowance must be one of the cruelest cuts of all.

Minister Joan Burton says that she wants to encourage women to get back into the job market, yet the facts don’t add up. In 2009 90,484 people were in receipt of one parent family payment from the department of social protection. Of these, 56% were claiming for one child, 98% of recipients were women and 60% of those receiving OPFP are in employment.

Lone parents often experience difficulty in finding work, education and training opportunities because of the lack of good quality affordable childcare and after-school care.