<p>
	Thursday marks the final payment of the one-parent family allowance to over 30,000 families.</p>
<p>
	The government announced the changes to the payment in the 2012 budget, saying it will incentivise more people to enter into paid work.</p>
<p>
	From 2 July the government allowance will only be available until the family&rsquo;s youngest child turns seven-years-old.</p>
<p>
	The limit had previously been 18 years of age in 2012 before it was later reduced to 16 last year.</p>
<p>
	In its current guise, recipients of the payment must be the main carer of a child and have earnings of less than &euro;425 per week.</p>
<p>
	It is estimated that over 30,000 single parents will miss out on the payment when the changes are made.</p>
<p>
	Instead lone parents will be expected to enter into the jobseekers&rsquo; allowance programme, where they must be available for and seeking work.</p>
<p>
	A number of organisations, including One Family and the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP), have highlighted the lack of supports put in place to minimise the impact on the families affected.</p>
<p>
	&quot;Calls to our askonefamily helpline have increased by 50%. We hear from very anxious and worried parents.&nbsp; They want to work and want to learn. They are determined to create brighter futures for their children.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;They are doing their best to overcome systemic barriers but this is not something that can happen within a reform process that penalises so many already in part-time employment,&rdquo; said One Family Director of Policy &amp; Programmes Stuart Duffin.</p>
<p>
	John-Mark McCafferty from SVP added that this reform will lead to even more families experiencing poverty.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;At any time, half to two thirds of homeless families living in emergency accommodation are one-parent families. Many more of the one-parent families we work with are on the verge of homelessness.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;Years of cuts have led to one-parent families being those families in Ireland with the highest levels of consistent poverty with 69% of individuals from these households experiencing one or more forms of deprivation,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>
	On Tuesday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny defended the cuts, saying the changes to the one-parent family payment will break &ldquo;a cycle of poverty.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;We cannot allow a situation in an economy that is recovering like ours to bypass thousands of families who are locked into jobless households,&rdquo; he said in the D&aacute;il.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;That&rsquo;s been one of the real difficulties for so many families, and those jobless households with children are at a particular risk of perpetuating a cycle of poverty that goes on from generation to generation,&quot; he added.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://utv.ie/News/2015/06/25/Over-30000-parents-receive-last-one-parent-payment-39828">http://utv.ie/News/2015/06/25/Over-30000-parents-receive-last-one-parent-payment-39828</a></p>
