People may be entitled to a weekly payment worth €232, which will be increased from 1 January.

The One-Parent Family Payment is a payment for men and women who are under 66 and are bringing children up without the support of a partner.

It was announced in Budget 2024, that starting from the New Year people can expect the scheme to go from €220 a week, to €232 a week.

Read more: Nine money changes hitting this month - €400 cash boosts, cost of living payments and energy cuts

Recipients of the social welfare payment can also work, however, to get it your income must be below a certain amount.

How to qualify for the One-Parent Family Payment?

To qualify for the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) you must:

  • Be aged under 66

  • Be the parent, step-parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian of a child under a certain age

  • Be the main carer of at least one child under the age limit. The child must live with you. OFP is not paid if the parents have joint equal custody of a child or children.

  • Pass a means test – a means test looks at any income that you have

  • Live in Ireland and meet the habitual residence condition

  • Not be living with a spouse, civil partner or cohabiting

Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys
Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys

If you are separated, divorced or your civil partnership is dissolved you must:

  • Have been living apart from your spouse or civil partner for at least 3 months. This does not apply to cohabitants (cohabitants are a couple living together, but not married or in a civil partnership)

  • Be inadequately (not properly) maintained by your spouse or civil partner (if your civil partner is the parent of the child)

If your spouse or civil partner is in prison:

  • They must be sentenced to at least 6 months in prison or have spent at least 6 months in custody.

How much is for the One-Parent Family Payment?

The maximum personal weekly rate is €232 starting from 2024, with added money given for dependent children.

As long as your youngest child is under the age limit, an Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC) will be paid for other children in the family until they reach 18 (or 22 if in full-time education).

One-Parent Family Payment is also a taxable source of income.

You can find more information on this payment here.

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