Lone parents’ allowances - Another U-turn

NOT so very long ago, Tánaiste Joan Burton ruled out cutting of allowances for single parents until a “gold-standard” childcare system was in place.

Those allowances were cut yesterday, but the facilities — “like the ones in Scandinavia” — remain a long-fingered dream. Has Ms Burton made one of this Government’s spectacular and frequent U-turns?

The rules around these allowances are complex, but the situation facing many single parents is starkly simple: They, among the most hard-pressed groups in society, face a cut in income just at the point when so many sectors are flexing their muscles and demanding “pay restoration”.