Single parents face the prospect of losing access to the lone-parent allowance under Government proposals which aim to lift people out of poverty and into education and the workforce.
The "carrot-and-stick" approach would seek to boost the income of lone parents who engage with authorities over entering education, training or the workforce.
The alternative would be a "tapering off" or a gradual reduction in the level of the lone-parent allowance as a child grows.
The payment would ultimately be abolished after a certain number of years - possibly before a child enters secondary school - after which a lone parent could access other benefits such as unemployment assistance.
At present the lone-parent allowance is paid until a child reaches 18 (or 22 years if they are in full-time education).
The proposal is one of the main recommendations in a report on reforming the welfare system by the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
Minister for Social Affairs Séamus Brennan will today publish its findings and begin a two-month consultation process with lone-parent groups. This will include a major forum meeting next month.
The one-parent family scheme, which the lone-parent allowance is now called, is worth a minimum of €165 a week, and is paid to more than 80,000 families at a cost of more than €770 million a year. When supplementary benefits such as rent allowance are included, the annual cost is some €1.3 billion.
Mr Brennan is likely to argue today that the measures are not a cost-cutting step but are aimed at improving the prospects of lone parents locked in poverty. Official figures show such family units are at a higher risk of poverty than any other group.
Under the proposals lone parents will be offered the services of personal welfare advisers once a child reaches five or six years. The role of Fás could also be expanded to include lone parents in its remit for the first time.
Around 60 per cent of lone parents in receipt of the allowance are working, but most of this work is part-time or low-paid work. Accessing training and education could see the weekly income of a lone parent boosted by €60 a week under the plan.
Another measure expected is the proposed ending of the "cohabitation rule" which stipulates that recipients must not be living with a partner in order to get the lone-parent allowance.
Some aspects of the reforms are set to prove controversial with lone-parent groups who have expressed concern about the extent to which single parents could lose benefits.
Candy Murphy, policy and campaigns manager with One Family, said any new supports must ensure one-parent families have real opportunities to move into sustainable employment, while also providing them with the choice to stay at home and raise their children.
Frances Byrne of the One Parent Exchange and Network (Open) said her group would be examining proposals about assisting parents to work outside the home very carefully. "Issues currently faced by lone parents include the lack of quality, affordable childcare, particularly for after-school and holiday periods, and the fact that the highest quality training options aren't offered on a flexible basis."
