CONTROVERSIAL new social welfare legislation that proposes cutbacks to one-parent family payments was welcomed by a leading lone parents group and branded "very sensible".

The Sunday Tribune has seen a letter sent by Treoir (the National Federation of Services for Unmarried Parents and their Children) to the Minister for Social Protection, Éamon Ó Cuív, in which the group praised Ó Cuív for his handling of the issue.

The group thanked the minister "for meeting with us recently to discuss the proposed changes in welfare for lone parents, particularly in activation measures... We would like to confirm that the policy of encouraging recipients of one-parent payment to engage in the workplace when their youngest child reaches 13 years of age is a very sensible one."

The one-parent family payment is currently paid to a parent until the youngest child reaches 18, or 22 if the child is in full-time education. Under the terms of the new social welfare bill, published last week, single parents whose youngest child is over 13 will no longer be able to claim one-parent family payments.