Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 June 2026
97. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection the other social welfare payments available to recipients of the one-parent family payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46038/26]
View answerOne-Parent Family Payment is a means tested payment for lone parents, under 66, whose youngest child is under seven. In addition, a Child Support Payment (previously known as an Increase for a Qualified Child) is payable for each child where a person is in receipt of the One-Parent Family Payment. If a person qualifies for One-Parent Family Payment based on the youngest child in the family but also has older children, then payment of the Child Support Payment will continue for the older children, until they reach 18 years or 22 years of age if they are in full-time education.
All families, including those in receipt of One-Parent Family Payment, receive Child Benefit, which is paid until a child’s sixteenth birthday, or their nineteenth birthday if they are in full-time education or have a disability and cannot support themselves.
There are a range of other payments a person in receipt of the One-Parent Family Payment may qualify for depending on their individual circumstances, these include:
• Special provisions exist for those caring and on half rate Carer’s Allowance, Domiciliary Care Allowance and those in receipt of Blind Pension, which extend the age of the youngest child to 16 years.
• A special provision for those recently bereaved also extends payment for up to 2 years or until the youngest child is 18 whichever occurs first.
• The Working Family Payment is a tax free in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. The working family payment may be paid concurrently with One-Parent Family payment.
• A person in receipt of the maximum rate of One-Parent Family Payment or reduced rate One-Parent Family Payment may be paid the half-rate of one of the following payments (provided all conditions are satisfied): Adoptive Benefit, Health and Safety Benefit, Maternity Benefit, Paternity Benefit, and Parents Benefit.
• A person in receipt of reduced rate One-Parent Family Payment may be paid a partial rate of one of the following payments (provided all conditions are satisfied) and provided that the total payment does not exceed the maximum rate payable for the benefit that the person qualifies for: Illness Benefit, Injury Benefit, Jobseeker's Benefit (where the employment is based around the school or academic year) and Incapacity Supplement.
• Bereaved Parent Grant is a once-off payment designed to assist with income support needs of a widow/widower or surviving civil partner immediately following the death of their spouse or civil partner. To qualify, a Bereaved Parent must be getting Child Support Payment for a Qualified Child. For the purposes of Bereaved Parent Grant, a qualified child is a child up to the age of 18, or a child between the age of 18 and 22, who is in full-time education.
• A person in receipt of the One-Parent Family Payment may qualify for the Fuel Allowance, Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear payment and Additional Needs Payments.
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Where a person in receipt of One-Parent Family Payment loses their employment, they may be entitled to Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit but must satisfy all the qualifying conditions for the payment, including being available for full-time work and genuinely seeking work. The amount of Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit combined with the One-Parent Family Payment cannot exceed the maximum rate that the person would qualify for on Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit.
Further details on the schemes available and how these interact with each other is set out in the operational guidelines for the One-Parent Family Payment published on Gov.ie.
