Over €800 million will be distributed in welfare benefits this year to the country's 86,000 lone parents who are supported by the State.
Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan said the Government planned to introduce a range of proposals that would specifically address the problems encountered by lone parents on income support such as access to employment and education, childcare, cohabitation rules and unfair stereotyping.
Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan
He was speaking in Limerick today at the launch of "Options and Opportunities", a guide to be delivered to all lone parents in receipt of State income support.
"It is time in this 21st century Ireland that we started to wipe away increasingly stale, restrictive social policies and set about opening up genuine choices and opportunities for lone parents," he said.
"My own department is concluding a review of the income support arrangements for lone parents and a special steering group appointed by the Government will report shortly on its examination of specific policy areas and how they impact on employment opportunities and family circumstances."
The Minister said that he had discussed reforms with representative organisations for lone parents and had visited a number of other European countries to examine alternative approaches. He expects to be in a position to deliver "specific proposals" to the Cabinet in the "near future".
There are currently almost 154,000 single parents (85 per cent of them women) in the State.
Mr Brennan added that this year his Department will be distributing over €12 billion (€1 in every €3 spent by the State) in welfare benefits and supports.