A Clare-based mother says the most shocking realisation about becoming a single parent was that she was a prisoner in her own home.
It comes as a new report has found that lone parent families, large families, and households with a working-age adult with a disability faced the highest risks of persistent poverty and deprivation.
A new report from the ESRI shows lone parent families and households with a disabled adult are most at risk of income poverty for one year.
Large families, meanwhile, are likely to be materially deprived two years in a row, and are most at risk of persistent income poverty.
The report also found the longer people stay in poverty, the harder it is for them to escape, and highlights the urgent need for policies to protect the most vulnerable from falling into the poverty trap.
Ursula Meaney is a lone parent who moved from Dublin to Clare prior to the pandemic to avail of cheaper rent at the time.
When the Kilshanny resident had her first child, she was top of her class graduating from a masters degree at Trinity College, had been offered a scholarship at a publishing house in America, and was on-track for a successful career, but was ultimately unable to pursue that avenue as a single parent and now works from home.
Ursula believes that while lone parents receive support through social welfare, these supports keep people just below the breadline, providing no way of getting ahead, in terms of saving or buying property.
She’s been telling Clare FM’s Morning Focus that without extended family to help out, lone parents are locked out from achieving the same goals as their peers, while locked inside their homes, which she believes can lead to anxiety and depression for many.
The report also found that for families where disability is a factor, the risk of persistent hardship remains high, due to extra living costs, limited employment opportunities, and gaps in support.
Ennistymon-based disabilty rights activist Anne-Marie Flanagan believes that particularly where families are headed by one parent with an impairment, the level of structural barriers that prevent families from thriving is “outrageous”.
She’s criticised the Government for providing once-off payments when the state was flush with cash, rather than permanent supports, saying it’s the most vulnerable groups that are at risk once again, when war or US tariffs have threatened the economy’s stability.
You can listen to the full interview here:
