Single mothers and benefit fraud

Fr Paul Galea is not a man to mince his words. The Caritas-sponsored national conference entitled Marriage - Quo Vadis? addressed a number of thorny issues high on the nation's social agenda. For a change, the project spearheaded by clinical and pastoral psychologist Fr Galea attempts to address the issues of births outside wedlock and the phenomenon of "the unknown father" from a statistical and factual perspective. Resisting the anecdotal, which, I must add, has generally been the case for the debate so far, Fr Galea resorts to clear and unavoidable facts and figures to paint a clearer picture of children born out of wedlock and the increasing pattern of cohabitation.

The statistical analysis speaks for itself. One in every 10 babies born in Malta are registered as having an "unknown father"; 34 per cent of children were born out of wedlock and roughly 24 per cent were born to unmarried couples. Between 2006 and 2007, 68 babies were born to mothers under 16 with the youngest recorded being aged 12. The welfare bill, including social benefits and allowances for single mothers for 2006, was €8.1 million. These funds were shared between 1,879 single parent households. This figure has now risen to 2,160.

Fr Galea investigated the baptismal registers and discovered that, for instance, in the case of the Paola parish the number of recorded "unknown father" baptisms was a staggering 80 per cent (according to Fr Galea but not according to the Paola parish priest, which continues to confound the reality of the statistics).

For that of St Dominic's in Valletta it was 45 per cent and 35 per cent in Cospicua. Fr Galea is clear to state that in the "unknown father" cases, most fathers are present at the actual baptisms posing as godfathers. He argues that this behaviour is tantamount to operating outside legality. Fr Galea believes that the very parents of these couples are sanctioning this behaviour, in effect blunting the actual stigma that accompanies this situation.

The report suggests that the situation is untenable in that it appears as if these couples are being given preferential treatment as opposed to couples who are legally married. The author points out the case for housing as an example where single parent households get distinct advantages in the application process.

The report suggests that the state should encourage the civil union and give legal recognition to reconstituted families in the case of separated individuals.

The facts make grim reading. But how do these figures compare with European and US statistics? Across Europe the number of children born to unmarried couples has increased 600 per cent over the last 35 years. This means that out of 30 per cent of all babies born in Britain (which has the highest proportion of single mothers in Europe), eight per cent of households are headed by single mothers between 18 and 35 years of age.

As for the rest of Europe, statistics vary widely. The reasons for this may be manifold, be they social, religious or economic. Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy have the lowest rates of the European Union. In the case of Spain, single parent households are less than one per cent, which contrasts with that of Ireland, which, although staunchly Catholic, has a rate of four per cent. In the case of the US, the number of single parent households is about 14 million, which equates to roughly four per cent of the population. In the case of the latter, only 31 per cent receive any social assistance.

Clearly, studies show an increased trend of single parent families where the social assistance is more accommodating. Compared to these figures, our situation is increasingly worrying. The trend is certainly upwards. What is not clear is when this rise in "unknown father" accelerated. Fr Galea's report suggests the phenomenon remains fundamentally an economic one. Still, oversimplification is always dangerous when treating such issues.

Beyond the moral and social implications of all this, the crux of the matter remains one of sound stewardship in the administration of funds allotted to welfare benefits. It is abundantly clear that the state must force its hand on this issue. I am not sure whether there is any monitoring whatsoever of these "unknown father cases". Likewise, it is unclear what are the actual enforceable penalties of blatant benefit fraud.

It should be worrying to all of us that people of such calibre as Fr Galea are stating clearly that fraud is playing a large part in this phenomenon. This is a serious accusation with severe profound social and moral implications. The quicker we stand up and listen or, better still, act, the better for our society in general and for future generations in particular.

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