It was announced two years ago that the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill would mean that the One Parent Family Payment scheme would see some significant changes, such as the reduction of the maximum age of the youngest child to be eligible for the payment from 12-years-old to seven-years-old.
Today, these changes take place and over 9,000 families will lose their payments.
The changes were meant to encourage lone parents to work, but when the Bill was published, advocacy groups such as OPEN, Barnardos and the National Women’s Council of Ireland described the change as “regressive and counterproductive”.
Support will be offered to those who relied on the payment in the form of Jobseekers Allowance, Family Income Supplement Payment and Carer’s Allowance.
