The sun shone on Family Day
and almost 10,000 people enjoyed a day-long festival celebrating family diversity in the Iveagh Gardens, Dublin on Sunday 19 May presented by One Family and EBS.
It has been a busy week for us. We also met with Minister Burton on Monday regarding members’ concerns and received confirmation of a positive step forward with the announcement of the new Jobseeker's Allowance Transition for lone parents due to come to the end of the One Parent Family Payment in July; hosted a seminar on Tuesday on women in politics; and we are attending the European Anti-Poverty Network Learning Forum 2013.
Read on for more.
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Family Day
This was the third annual Family Day in the Iveagh Gardens presented by One Family and EBS. The popularity of this fun, free celebration of family diversity for all ages is flourishing with attendance in 2013 almost double that of 2012 at a record-breaking almost 10,000 people aged from just 6 days old to grandparents. Spreading their picnic blankets, together all enjoyed music, comedy, theatre, sports – including a boxing exhibition with Irish Olympian Michael Carruth – story-telling, arts and crafts, and lots more. It was almost record-breaking weather too with clear blue skies and high temperatures enhancing the festive atmosphere.
Thank you to Cllr Kieran Binchy, our supporters Today FM, OPW and DCC, everyone who joined us, our volunteers and to all who contributed to the festivities.
Click here to view a selection of beautiful Family Day 2013 photos by photographers Paul Sherwood and Ingrid Epure.
Mark your diaries for next year, as we’ll do it all again on Family Day 2014 which takes place on Sunday 18 May.
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JAT
A new reform which will allow lone parents who are on social welfare to seek part-time rather than full-time work when moved to Jobseekers Allowance through an arrangement called Jobseeker’s Allowance Transition (JAT) was announced this week. On Monday lone parents being moved onto Jobseeker's Allowance needed to be available to work full-time. On Tuesday this was reduced to part-time as a result of our persistent lobbying on this and many other issues (see 10 Solutions). The scheme removes the requirement to be looking and available for full-time employment, but has particular conditionalities that must be met. The Department will be sending letters out to those who were previously expected to move onto Jobseekers’ Allowance in the first week of July. Local offices will not have full details of JAT until next week. While we will continue to hold the Minister accountable in relation to her promise of Scandinavian style childcare and to lobby for this and all the other supports needed, we believe that this is a step forward. For additional informational please click here or call the askonefamily lo-call helpline on 1890 66 22 12.
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Family Law
If you have had personal experience of family law courts we would really appreciate you taking a few minutes to complete our online survey. Minister Alan Shatter is currently working on reform of the Irish family law system and One Family will make a brief submission to him to assist his thinking. Minister Shatter plans on revealing his plans at a conference on 6 July, location TBC. Please click here to participate in the survey which closes at 8pm on Thursday 6 June.
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Seminar
One Family and Women for Election co-hosted the seminar Engaging Women: Taking the Next Step into Politics in Dublin on Tuesday 21 May featuring keynote speaker Jessica N Grounds, Executive Director of Running Start and Founder of Solid Grounds Strategy; Ciara Conway TD; Rita Fagan; Karen Kiernan of One Family; and Niamh Gallagher of Women for Election. Inspirational words and lively discussion were enjoyed by all. To view photos, click here.
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Training
We offer a variety of training courses for people parenting alone or sharing parenting of their children. These include Positive Parenting, Parenting Teens & Learning how to Communicate as a Family, and Parenting When Separated. Courses take place in our offices in Dublin 2 where we offer a free, part-time créche service for parents accessing our services. Registration is on an on-going basis throughout the year. Find out more.
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