Changes to One Parent Family Payment 'will force thousands further into poverty'

Changes to the One Parent Family Payment come into effect today.

It means single parents in receipt of social welfare will be required to seek employment or training as soon as their youngest child turns seven.

The Department of Social Protection said that lone parents who increase their number of part-time working hours to 19 will be better off under the changes, but opponents say thousands of families will lose out.

Speaking in the Dáil last night, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said the changes will force thousands of lone parents and children further into poverty.

"There are an estimated 12,000 families, including many in my own constituency of Louth, who now face significant cuts of up to €86 per week," he said.

"Many will be deeply affected by the cut to this allowance.

"This Thatcherite view of the world ignores the valuable social and economic role that lone parents make in raising their children."