Social Welfare Support to single parents

singlemum36

Hi,

I hope someone can help me. I am a single mum and I am trying to assess what social welfare I am entitled to/can receive. I am not working at the moment but once the baby is 6 months old I would like to go back to work part-time, however I have no one to mind the baby so I will be hit with the creche fee as well.

Can anyone advise what supports/benefits are available there?

stinkbomb

There are varying childcare supports. If you are on WFP and have a medical card you can get 145e a week towards full time childcare and 80e per week for part time care. To get WFP you will need to work 19 hours a week.

splinter65

singlemum36 wrote: »

Hi,

I hope someone can help me. I am a single mum and I am trying to assess what social welfare I am entitled to/can receive. I am not working at the moment but once the baby is 6 months old I would like to go back to work part-time, however I have no one to mind the baby so I will be hit with the creche fee as well.

Can anyone advise what supports/benefits are available there?

Right now you can get lone parent payment of €198+€31.30. If you can go back to work then you can get means tested lone parent plus WFP. If you tell me how much net you will earn I will tell you how much you will have.

singlemum36

Thanks a million - is there anything else like help with the heating bills, mortgage payment? Someone told me that lone parents don't need to pay TV licence - I couldn't find that anywhere. Is that a myth? I am on the dole at the moment and I think I won't be able to any maternity benefit either.... Thanks so much for your help.

wifey28

singlemum36 wrote: »

Thanks a million - is there anything else like help with the heating bills, mortgage payment? Someone told me that lone parents don't need to pay TV licence - I couldn't find that anywhere. Is that a myth? I am on the dole at the moment and I think I won't be able to any maternity benefit either.... Thanks so much for your help.

Correct if your on the dole you dont qualify for a maternity payment as you have to be working to get it, as for paying bills,mortgage and tv license no i dont think theres much, you can maybe apply for fuel allowance? which is an extra 20 euro a week from october to april, but you have to be on the dole a certain amount of time to qualify for this. i know we were on the dole from late december and didnt qualify for the next year, think it was 15 months he had to be on the dole to qualify.

splinter65

singlemum36 wrote: »

Thanks a million - is there anything else like help with the heating bills, mortgage payment? Someone told me that lone parents don't need to pay TV licence - I couldn't find that anywhere. Is that a myth? I am on the dole at the moment and I think I won't be able to any maternity benefit either.... Thanks so much for your help.

No there’s no help with mortgage payments you will have to talk to your lender, or I recommend that you go to MABS who will help you to budget according to your means and negotiate with your lenders on your behalf.
MABS is free.
You won’t be entitled to the free TV license or the electricity or phone allowance or free travel but you will get the fuel allowance €22.50 per week if you apply for lone parent as long as you are living alone with your child.
Is the other parent of the baby able to contribute?

singlemum36

Thanks a million - no, he is not contributing at the moment. Hopefully we can work out maintenance.

singlemum36

Thanks a million, really appreciate your help!

Donald73

singlemum36 wrote: »

Thanks a million, really appreciate your help!

If you’re in a lower income when you go back to work you would also probably be entitled to FIS as well as keeping the one parent payment child part (29.80 weekly when I was getting it, think it’s gone up a tiny bit since might be 31.20). When your child turns 7 this ends and you get it as back to work dividend, 31.20 weekly for first year then half of it for the second then it ends. Every little helps.

FIS have a calculator of sorts which shows how to work out how much you get.