Financial Disincentives to Marriage.......

Committee Proposes Series of Measures to Tackle Problem of Financial Disincentives to Marriage and Cohabitation -






20 October 2010 -



A range of new recommendations have been advanced today by the Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection on how to deal with the deterrents and obstacles which can discourage marriage and cohabitation.



In a report published today, the Committee has put forward proposals, which if implemented, will help to deal with the serious economic and societal impact this phenomenon is having on Irish life.



Committee Chairman, Jackie Healy-Rae TD said;

“Statistically, lone parents are at a greater risk of poverty than the population at large. However, lone parents risk losing secure social welfare payments if they chose to officially co-habit with or marry a partner. Inevitably, this means that many people decide against forming a family unit or that some parents opt to live together unofficially to avoid losing payments.”



The Committee has identified this issue as having a serious economic and societal impact on Irish life. There are 190,000 one-parent families in Ireland today (18% of all families), one in five children live in one parent families while research indicates that you are 4.5 times more likely to live in poverty if you live in a one-parent family.



Among the recommendations in the report are:



Individualise social welfare payments, creating a household social welfare payment equally split between spouses.

Establish a “maximum loss of benefit rate.” This would limit the loss in income as a result of marriage/co-habitation to a fixed percentage of previous income.

In the absence of a maximum loss of benefit rate, a thorough review of entitlement to rent supplement needs to be conducted.

Replace the One Parent Family Allowance with a time limited Parental Allowance for all low income families.

Introduce a “Wasted Tax Credit” for lower income married couples. This would mean a cash payment for people who do not earn enough to gain from a tax credit.



Committee Vice-Chairman, Charlie O’Connor TD said;

“In calling for change, we believe our priorities should be to protect children and ensure that people do not lose out if they decide to co-habit or marry. Should people wish to form a stable family unit they must not be unduly financially punished.



I believe that the recommendations contained in our report provide a clear directional path from which to move forward on this sensitive issue.”



The report was compiled following consultation with financial journalist Colm Rapple and with meetings with the organisations, OPEN, One Family and Treoir.



The report will be forwarded to the Minister for Social Protection for his consideration.