Single parents who are on social assistance will be given more incentives to receive more training and improve their education levels.

Single parents on social assistance who choose to improve their employability prospects by undergoing intensive training or full-time education will be given a tax credit.

This will range from €200 per year for vocational basic training to €1,000 per annum for full-time education. These single parents will also benefit from free childcare if needed.

For more women to be encouraged to work, a number of general measures are going to be introduced or enhanced, including the provision of more childcare and the introduction of Breakfast Club providing childcare before the start of official school hours. The main target is unemployed women over 40.

From next year, breadwinners whose wives are over 40 and who have been inactive for more than five years but are going to start working will start benefiting from reductions in income tax as their income would not be considered for tax purposes when using a joint tax computation with their husbands.

According to the Government this measure should encourage more women to enter the labour market and should help in an increase in female labour participation.