Lone parents due to protest decision outside Leinster House today

Single Parents Acting for the Rights of Kids, also known as SPARK, are due to hold a protest outside Leinster House later today.

The group will be gathering to protest and call for the reversal of cuts to lone-parent payments.

As of July, more than 30,000 single parents are due to lose their entitlement once their child reaches seven-years-old.

Protesting the decision and highlighting the difficulties it will create for lone parents, spokesperson for Spark, Louise Bayliss, 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."

Explaining the implications the cuts will have on this particular parent, Louise explained: "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."