New cut off for single parents.

T

thedaras

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As I understand it, single parents will no longer receive an allowance when their child reaches 13.

Do you think this will just encourage them to have more?

IE: First child reaches 12 then they get pregnant and they can get the allowance for another 13 years ..
 
While this move is welcomed, it will not be effective if people who dont want to work just transfer from single parents allowance to unemployment assistance.
 

They're doing it already.

Why don't they cut off child support (or at a minimum reduce below the level of the first and second child) for third an subsequent children FOR everyone. Might discourage those who already have 1-2 children from having more if they can't provide for them.
 
By that logic, why not cut it for 1st and 2nd children too - do you reckon that will stop children being born to lone parents?
 
Probably not but it might stop the production of the more "profitable" 2nd+ children though!
 

So the parent who finds themselves alone (through separation, or death of a partner) who happens to have 3 or more children shouldn't be paid for all of their family?
 
Can't understand why child benefit is ore for the 3rd and subsequent child. Should be flat rate for all kids.
 
Can we be a little more specific here and not generalise. The original post should refer to single parents receiving single parents allowance. There are thousands of us single parents who work and pay significant taxes and receive nothing from the state because of our salaries (and rightly so). If I had a penny from every ill informed person who comments on how I must be well sorted with my single parents allowance and my salary I'd be a very rich person. There are those out there who believe that every single parents gets this allowance so lets be more specific when posting about this.
 
The lone parent allowance was never intended to be a long term option. Sure, it is paid to widows /widowers, separated or divorced people but what people usually mean when they talk about lone parents are women who never married and who do not work. Someone on the radio today said that particular group only makes up 26% of all lone patents and that, in my opinion, is who the government is aiming at by these measures.

Ireland seems to be alone in paying lone parents allowance until the child reaches 18 or 22 if in full time education. Others countries stop the benefit much earlier. Social welfare should never be considered a life long benefit and for some lone parents it appears to be that.
 
So based on the last census, there has been a significant drop in the rate of marriage in this country; those that are getting married are waiting till later in life.

There hasn't been an equivalent drop in the birth rate and the rate of very young mothers having children without a partner (i.e those in their teens) has remained relatively flat. These are typically the group of lone parents who are invariably brought into play in these discussions; despite the fact that they make up the smallest grouping of those claiming LPA.

So adults aren't marrying, but they are still having children, LPA costs are increasing year on year and it's not all the teenagers.

Here's my theory - partly based on the above and partly from my anecdotal evidence.

Young couples are having children, ostensibly living apart, and then getting married to each other some years later.

Why would they do this?

Because the LPA pays better than doing it the other way around.

If you (as a couple) believe it is better (or more financially viable) for one parent to care full-time for the children, particularly for the early years; then you can opt not to marry for several years, live apart (or at least have separate addresses) and have one partner claim LPA.

I've seen this phenomenon enough times over the last decade or so to believe that this is the true reason behind the rate of increase of claims for LPA.
 

My understanding was that lone parents allowance is only paid where one parent is raising the children alone without the support of the other parent? So couples who are living apart are not entitled to claim it?
 
lone parents allowance is only paid where one parent is raising the children alone without the support of the other parent
Click to expand...

Not quite, whilst the amount of Child maintenance being paid can be taken into account in assessing the total LPA due, the fact of it being paid (it is a legal obligation after all) and access arrangements are independent of the entitlement to claim LPA.
 
Thirsty, not sure if I understood your post correctly...........but access and maintenance are also independent of each other. So a Father for example can be paying no maintenance and still be given access and Guardianship.
 
Lightswitch, you are correct in that regard.

The point I was making is that access/maintenance etc., are independent of the entitlement to LPA.
 
Lou - I agree with you, not all single parents ask to be single and single parents are not scum of the earth the way some people seem to think. Lots of lone parents are working and struggling to make ends meet with no help from anybody - you never hear the runaway fathers being critiscised, some of who have the cheek to claim tax allowance for the chil they never see.
 

Exactly.
 
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