Facts & Figures

Here are some key facts and figures about one-parent families in Ireland, and about social welfare benefits.

About One-Parent Families in Ireland

  • 1 in 8 people in Ireland live in a one-parent family (Census 2011)
  • 1 in 4 families with children in Ireland is a one-parent family (Census 2011)
  • Over half a million people live in one-parent families in Ireland (Census 2011)
  • 13.5 per cent of one-parent families are headed by a father (Census 2011)
  • Almost 1 in 5 children (18.3%) live in a one-parent family (Census 2011)
  • There are over 215,000 one-parent families in Ireland today – 25.8 per cent of all families with children (Census 2011)
  • People in lone parent households tend to have the lowest disposable income out of all households in the  state (EU-SILC 2010)
  • Those living in lone parent households continue to experience the highest rates of deprivation with almost 69% of individuals from these households experiencing one or more forms of deprivation. (EU-SILC 2010)

About the One-Parent Family Payment

  • 92,326 people are currently receiving the One-Parent Family Payment (December 2010). This has increased from 59,000 in 1997
  • 98% of recipients of OPF are women (2010)
  • 56% of recipients have one child; 28% have two children; 11% have three children (2010)
  • The percentage of OPF recipients under 30 years of age is falling (34.4%)
  • The percentage of OPF recipients over 30 is increasing (currently 65.6%) (2010)
  • The number of teenage parents in receipt of OFP fell from 4.4% in 1997 to 1.5% in 2010

About Social Welfare Benefits

One-Parent Family Payment (OPF)

The OPF is the main payment for a man or woman living alone with dependent children. This may apply to you if you are separated, divorced or your civil partnership is dissolved, or if you have never married the other parent of your child.

The full rate of payment is €188 per week plus €29.80 Child Dependent Allowance, per child.

Over the period 2012 to 2015, entitlement to One Parent Family Payment will be assessed on:

  • When your initial claim for One-Parent Family Payment was made and;
  • The age of your youngest child.

Please see the table below for clarification.

In 2012

4 July 2013

3 July 2014

2 July 2015

Date of claim

Age threshold reduces to:
1. If your claim started before 27 April 2011 payment will continue until your youngest child reaches:

18

17

16

7
2. If your claim started between 27 April 2011 and 2 May 2012 payment will continue until your youngest child reaches:

14

12

10

7
3. If your claim starts on or after 3 May 2012 payment will continue until your youngest child reaches:

12

10

7

Parents can work and the first €110 of gross weekly earnings (from Jan 2013) does not affect their rate of OPF payment. Once they earn over the €110 then half of the remainder (up to the OPF ceiling of €425) is counted as means and this will reduce the rate of OPF payment received. If a parent earns more than €425 gross a week then they are no longer eligible for OPF.

Rent Supplement

Rent Supplement may be paid to those living in private rented accommodation and who do not have enough income to meet the costs of this. The property must be suitable for the person’s needs and the costs must not exceed the set Rent Supplement levels for household size and must be below the maximum rent level set for the area. Generally all applicants for rent supplement must have been assessed as in housing need by their local authority.

In assessing the amount of rent supplement paid by the Department of Social Protection, the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) level for your family is not taken into account in assessing household income.

So for a one-parent family with 1 child the SWA amount is €215.80 per week; there is then a further Household Income Disregard of €75. This income may come from:

  • Employment
  • Maintenance over €95.23
  • Family Income Supplement
  • CE Scheme

A further 25% of income over the €75 is disregarded.
If maintenance is the only additional income then all of it, upt0 €95.23 a week is assessed.
All recipients of Rent Supplement must pay a minimum of €30 a week contribution towards their rent.

Medical card

There are income guidelines set out by the HSE for medical cards and GP visit cards.
For a lone parent the net income is €266.50 with allowance of €38 for each of the first 2 children aged under 16 and €41 for each subsequent child under 16. Reasonable costs are considered for rent or mortgage costs, childcare costs and travel to work costs.
So as most lone parents in receipt of the One Parent Family Payment are parent to one child, the total is €304.50 plus these other costs. As the full OPF is €217.80 then a parent can earn a further €86.70 before going over the income threshold but the additional costs for rent or mortgage, childcare and travel are considered too.
The income guidelines for a GP visit card are higher, for an adult it is €400 and a child €57.  So a family can have a weekly income of €457 and be eligible for the GP Visit Card.

Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance

The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance helps towards the costs of uniforms and footwear for children going back to school, for families claiming a social welfare payment.

The income limits for 2011 are as follows:
For a parent and 1 child if income from social welfare and paid work is below €410.10 a week then they may be eligible for this payment. For a lone parent with two children the income level is €439.90 and for three children it is €469.70. The BTSCFA payment is €150 for a child aged 2-11 and €250 for a child aged 12-22, in 2012.

Fuel Allowance

Fuel Allowance is a payment towards helping with the cost of heating a home and is paid for 26 weeks between September and April to those in receipt of a social welfare payment. The payment is €20 a week.

Family Income Supplement

Family Income Supplement is a weekly payment for working families on a low income. This payment applies to both one parent and two parent families. A person must be working a minimum of 19 hours a week or 38 in a fortnight, the employment must be expected to last a minimum of three months, they must have a child dependent and satisfy a means test. To qualify, net income must be below a set level for your household size; for a family with one child this is €506 a week, with two children it is €602 and for three children it is €703. Net income is less PRSI, Universal social charge, tax and superannuation. Payment is made at 60% of the difference between the household level for family size and net income.

One-parent family Stats by County

Stats by County as taken from Census 2006:
Carlow:
There are 2,077 lone parent households in Carlow; 85% lone mothers, 15% lone fathers
One-parent families make up 12% of all households in Carlow
Cavan:
There are 2,193 lone parent households in Cavan; 84% lone mothers, 16% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 10% of all households in Cavan.
Clare:
There are 4.069 lone parent households in Clare; 83% lone mothers, 17% lone fathers.
One-parent families made up 11% of all households in Clare.
Cork
In 2006 the Census recorded 5,815 lone parent households in Cork City; 86% were lone mothers, with 14% lone fathers.
In 2006 the Census recorded 12,957 lone parent households in Cork County; 83% were lone mothers, with 17% lone fathers.
One parent families made up 11% of all households in Cork.
Donegal:
There are 6,233 lone parent households in Donegal; 86% lone mothers, 14% lone fathers.
One-parent families made up 12% of all households in Donegal.
Dublin:
There are 52,183 lone parent households in Dublin; 87% lone mothers, 13% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 12% of all households in the Dublin area.
There are 24,164 lone parent households in Dublin City; 87% lone mothers, 13% lone fathers.
There are 7,001 lone parent households in Dun-Laoighaire / Rathdown; 86% lone mothers, 14% lone fathers.
There are 9,259 lone parent households in Fingal; 87% lone mothers, 13% lone fathers.
There are 11,759 lone parent households in South Dublin; 87% lone mothers, 13% lone fathers.
Galway:
There are 2,878 lone parent households in Galway City; 90% lone mothers, 10% lone fathers.
There are 5,258 lone parent households in Galway County; 84% lone mothers, 16% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 10% of all households in Galway.
Kerry:
There are 5,349 lone parent households in Kerry; 85% lone mothers, 15% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 11% of all households in Kerry.
Kilkenny:
There are 3,120 lone parent households in Kilkenny; 83% lone mothers, 17% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 11% of all households in Kilkenny.
Laois:
There are 2,442 lone parents in Laois; 83% lone mothers, 17% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 11% of all households in Laois.
Leitrim:
There are 1,017 lone parent households in Leitrim; 85% lone mothers, 15% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 10% of all households in Leitrim.
The Census does not provide a figure for the number of One-parent families in the county, but nationally, Census data shows that over 10% of all One-parent families live in multi-family households, for example, they live with their own parents
Limerick:
There are 3,071 lone parent households in Limerick City; 87% lone mothers, 13% lone fathers.
There are 4,353 lone parent households in Limerick County; 83% lone mothers, 17% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 12% of all households in Limerick.
Longford:
There are 1,523 lone parent households in Longford; 85% lone mothers, 15% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 13% of all households in Longford.
Louth:
There are5,077 lone parent households in Louth; 86% lone mothers, 14% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 13% of all households in Louth.
Mayo:
There are 4,419 lone parent households in Mayo; 84% lone mothers, 16% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 10% of all households in Mayo.
Meath:
There are5,188 lone parent households in Meath; 83% lone mothers, 17% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 10% of all households in Meath
Monaghan:
There are 2,077 lone parent households in Monaghan; 82% lone mothers, 18% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 11% of all households in Monaghan.
Offaly:
There are 2,629 lone parent households in Offaly; 84% lone mothers, 16% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 11% of all households in Offaly.
Roscommon:
There are 1,999 lone parent households in Roscommon; 84% lone mothers, 16% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 10% of all households in Roscommon.
Sligo:
There are 2,283 lone parent households in Sligo; 85% lone mothers, 15% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 11% of all households in Sligo.
Tipperary:
There are 2,509 lone parent households in Tipperary NR; 84% lone mothers, 16% lone fathers.
There are 3,726 lone parent households in Tipperary SR; 85% lone mothers, 15% lone fathers.
Waterford:
There are 2,387 lone parent households in Waterford City; 88% lone mothers, 12% lone fathers.
There are 2,384 lone parent households in Waterford County; 83% lone mothers, 17% lone fathers.
There are a total of 4,771 lone parent households in Waterford; 85% lone mothers, 15% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 12% of all households in Waterford
Westmeath:
There are 3,086 lone parent households in Westmeath; 85% lone mothers, 15% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 11% of all households in Westmeath.
Wicklow:
There are 5,360 lone parent households in Wicklow; 85% lone mothers, 15% lone fathers.
One-parent families make up 13% of all households in Wicklow