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.