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MINISTER FOR SOCIAL Protection Joan Burton has published the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill which will give effect to a number of reforms announced in Budget 2012.
The Bill will provide for changes to the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) scheme, namely the reduction of the maximum age of the youngest child to be eligible for the payment.
A number of advocacy groups have criticised the proposals to cease the payment to lone parents once their child reaches the age of seven.
OPEN, Barnardos and the National Women’s Council of Ireland said the measure was “regressive and counterproductive”.
The age limit will reduce to age-seven in 2014. From 3 May 2012, the maximum age limit of the youngest child for receipt of the payment will reduce to age 12 for new applicants.
There will be no changes for existing applications until next year, when they will come in on a phased basis.
Until 2011, the OFP provided long-term income support until children were aged 18 or 22 if still in full-time education so this move is a radical change. Parents in receipt of the payment were not required to engage in employment, education or training.
Burton said the changes are in the “best interests” of working-age parents, stating that long-term welfare dependency and passive income support are also not the best routes for children or society.
“Parents of young children face the very real challenge of balancing work and children. However, supporting parents to participate in training, education and work once their children have reached seven years of age will improve both their own economic situation and the social well-being of parents and their families,” added the Minister.
Frances Byrne, director of OPEN, disputed the Government’s claims. She said the organisation is “dismayed” at the low cut-off age. She believes it will only serve to increase poverty for lone parents and their children, who have already seen “disastrous” cuts in Budget 2012.
Byrne said OPEN, Barnardos and the National Women’s Council are prepared to fight for the removal of the measure from the Bill.
Burton said that her department, with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, is looking for ways to enhance the level of childcare provision in Ireland.
As of December 2011, over 90,000 people received the One-Parent Family Payment. The scheme will cost an estimated €1.06 billion this year.
This story provides a timely counterpoint to the recent bus driver v cyclist video.
I travel on the bus a lot and, although of course I encounter some drivers who are having a bad day (or in some cases are consistently rude), most of them are very good at their job. Good bus drivers are public servants in the best sense of the term. Their hard work makes the city better for the rest of us. They receive some shocking abuse from difficult passengers, so I think it’s important to acknowledge their hard work by thanking them, even when they’re a bit grumpy.
Dublin Bus drivers tend to be bang on. A number of times I haven’t had enough change or credit on my Leap card and they’ve nodded me on to go ahead.
Don’t suppose that antagonising w@nker with the camera on his helmet would post anything positive like this on YouTube… Fair play…
The bus driver veered dangerous into the cycle lane, putting that cyclist’s life in danger.
It was a bus lane, not a cycle lane…
There was a cycle lane beside the bus lane…
So if someone drives in the bus lane the bus driver is entitled to push you off the road?
Anyone that cycles up the inside of a bus which is approaching a stop is an idiot that probably won’t survive much longer.
That was a cycle lane Catherine. A cycle lane with a solid white line which means that cars/busses are not permitted to drive in it. The bus driver veered into this lane wrecklessly.
However, regardless of whether it was a bus lane or not, do you suggest that busses are allowed to veer into other vehicles and push them off the road simply because they happen to be in the bus lane? By that logic, any pedestrian crossing the road (not at a designated crosswalk) is a legitimate target for any vehicle on the road?
Colin,
Who has the right of way won’t really matter if you get hit by a bus. The cyclist in that video with the camera on his helmet cycled up the inside of a bus that was pulling in to a stop. That makes him a complete idiot who’s stupid videos won’t help him when he is under a double decker. A lot of cyclists need to cop on to themselves and use a bit of common sense instead of screaming about their rights all the time, they are the least law abiding of all road users also.
I may have the context incorrect as I was referring to the incident in this article – not the previous one
Loop – the cyclist was travelling at a constant speed in his own lane as he was fully entitled to do. the bus veered into his lane without any signal (way before the bus stop which is about another 100/200 meters along that road at the junction), the cyclist applied his brakes and avoided an RTA. I dont see what is idiotic about what the cyclist did. If youre driving in the left lane in your car along the quays and the traffic is slower in the right lane are you saying that the traffic in the left lane needs to stop and not progress in their own lane until the right lane starts moving again??
Indeed youre dead right, who has the right of way won’t really matter if you get hit by a bus. Thankfully that lad wasnt hit by the bus.
Loop at least go watch the video before you comment, the bus stop is beyond where that incident happened. There is no solid white line on the cycle lane where the bus stop is to let the divers pull into it. The driver crossed a solid white line which is a road traffic offence. Whatever about the behaviour of the cyclist thats is a simple fact. If you know that section of the quays its wide enough for everyone to get along.
On top of that buses, cars bikes cant just change lane as they please. They need to make sure that lane is clear to move into or across thats just common sense not to mention the law.
That video was also edited to make it look juicier I’ll bet.
I hope this cyclist makes a full recovery. This story proves the point that there are far more good people around than bad. As for the idiot in the car that deliberately caused this accident watch out! KARMA is following you!
Karma in the name of Dublin bus video surveillance .
I cycle around the city everyday and find bus drivers very courteous.
They have the sense to realise that I won’t hold them up and will in fact get through the traffic quicker than they will.
I’m sure there are some bad motorists around but luckily I haven’t encountered them yet.
I wonder was teh car turning left onto the Quays from Marlbourgh St, right in front of the new bridge? Exact same thing happened to me a few week ago, hit by a bar on my back wheel. No injuries but repairs required for the bike The driver then had the audacity to lay on their horn after they hit me, as if to say I was to blame for having the right of way on the quays!
As a seasoned cyclist myself, I have to say it’s only since that video surfaced that all bus drivers have become more courteous and actually acknowledge cyclists. I do note that not all bus drivers drove badly prior to the video.
In my experience the worst drivers on the road are not bus drivers, but taxi drivers, followed closely by mother’s dropping their children off at school. Both think they own the road, fail to indicate, drive in cycle lanes and speed up when turning a corner, again while failing to indicate. They should be forced to spend a week cycling along their usual roads and see what it’s like when erratic drivers like them behave in such a fashion. I have no doubt there would be fewer accidents on our roads.
As a regular cyclist I find bus drivers are more aware of cyclists than any other drivers on the roads in dublin and people should never let one isolated event darken their opinion on them as a whole.
I’m a little late to this article, but I’m extremely heartened by it.
To the author. The brevity of this piece was fantastic. I loved every bit of it. It is perfect.
I’m not going to engage in the subject matter, that’s up above this post and beneath your article.
But this article, is a masterclass in how to get to the point. Definitely one of the best I’ve ever seen on here.
I’ve found the bus drivers in Dublin are psychos for the most part – they speed around and give no space to cyclists- especially at junctions. Westmoreland Street is a nightmare to navigate- a bus crushing zone.
There is so much glass in the cycle lanes at the moment as well you end up having to pull into the road which is seriously dangerous. They really need to get pubs to clean up at the end of the night. The cleaning trucks don’t get out often for a few days to an area.
These cyclist versus motorists stories are so tiresome. Everyone getting excited just needs to relax! I cycle to work every day in Dublin city centre. Nobody has ever come close to running me over in their car, nor have I ever harmed a pedestrian.
Happy you are ok. Nasty evil person who ran you off the road.
I agree and disagree.
I was on the bus with my 9 year old son. We sat upstairs on the bus. When getting my shopping to get off the bus. My son decided to head to stairs. I was trying to catch him by the arm, when the bus jammed on brakes and he toppled head over heels down the stairs. I ran down stairs needless to say with a fright.
However not one person got up off their fuc8king seat to see if my child was ok. The bus driver didnt even get out of his seat. I got off the bus and the driver took off. Didnt even ask if my son was ok.
For every good story there is ten bad ones.
But it is same world over.
So your shopping is of more importance to you than your son??the driver obviously braked for a reason.people on the bus probably thought the same as a lot of people reading your comment that you should be looking after your child instead of your shopping.also you could have waited until the bus was stopped at the stop then let your son run away down the stairs!!!
Happy to finally see good comments about Busdrivers :)
Bus W@n*ers
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