According to parent groups, the income of lone parents would drop by over 4,600 when a child turns eight. "The withdrawal of the parental allowance would create serious poverty traps, " Camille Loftus of One Parent Exchange and Network said.

The proposals from social and family affairs minister Seamus Brennan are due to be enacted later this year. They include a new time-limited allowance for low-income families and a requirement that parents seek training or employment when their child turns five, while the child benefit allowance will cease altogether when the child reaches a certain age, such as eight.

Brennan's proposals will also put an end to the controversial co-habitation rule, which has traditionally seen single mothers being deprived of benefits if they live with the father of their child or a partner.

According to the 2002 Census, there were 154,000 loneparent families in the country.

Some 80,000 people received the one-parent family payment in 2004 at a cost to the state of almost 700m.

"Right now, a person in receipt of a one-parent family payment can continue to receive their payment until their child is 18, or 22 if in full-time education, with no direct intervention by the state, " Brennan said. "I don't believe any of us consider this long-term welfare dependency can be in the best interests of the lone parent, their children or society in general."

However, a lack of affordable childcare, training and education support are seen as serious obstacles to Brennan's reforms. Several groups have urged the minister to re-consider introducing mandatory employment, saying a policy of coercion was wrong.

"We must ask ourselves if we want to move to a position where the option of parenting children over the age of eight at home is denied to many families, " Candy Murphy of One Family, said.

Meanwhile, Liam O'Gogain of Parental Equality urged the government to address the problems faced by single fathers. "Until the funding is there to articulate a male perspective, you'll never hear that side of the story."