Enda Kenny has lost no time in speaking up to defend the upcoming social welfare cuts for single parents.
The cuts are expected to affect over 30,000 parents, who will lose their one parent family payments from July 2. Instead, they will be moved onto jobseekers’ payments if their child is of the age of seven.
Joan Burton recently justified the cuts by saying that such changes are intended to “get lone parents out of the poverty trap” and into gainful employment. In lieu of payments, families will be offered education courses and training.
The proposed cuts will also see a reduction in the amount of hours a parent is allowed to work before receiving the payment.
And this afternoon, Enda Kenny has said that the cuts will give single parents a reason to take on additional paid work.
Mr. Kenny said: “We cannot allow a recovering economy to bypass thousands of families who are locked into jobless households.
“Those jobless households with children are at a particular risk of perpetuating a cycle of poverty that goes on from generation to generation.”