Barnalög

Umsögn í þingmáli 707 á 150. þingi


Þingmál lagt fram: 02.04.2020 Tegund þingmáls: Lagafrumvarp Fjöldi umsagna við þingmál: 20 Fjöldi umsagnabeiðna við þingmál: 129 Ferill þingmálsins á althingi.is Sendandi: Félagsráðgjafadeild Háskóla Íslands Viðtakandi: Alls­herjar- og mennta­mála­nefnd Dagsetning: 19.06.2020 Gerð: Upplýsingar
B R í S T O L U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S Policy Press injBLISHI'NG W ITH A PURTOSH le: Policies and p rac tices f o r s ingle p a re n ts in Iceland thor(s): G uðn ý B jörk Eydal C hap te r Ti1: C hap te r Au Book Titie: The t r ip le b ind o f s in g le -p a re n t fam il ie s Book Subti1:le: Resources, e m p lo y m e n t and policies to im p ro v e w ellbe ing Book Editor(s): Rense N ieuw enhu is and Laurie C. Maldonado Published by: B ris to l U n iv e rs i ty Press; Policy Press Stable URL: h t t p : / / w w w .js to r .c o m /s ta b le / j .c t t2 2 0 4 rv q .2 3 TSTOR is a n o t - f o r - p r o f í t service t h a t helps scholars, researchers , and s tu d e n t s discover, use, and build upon a wide range o f c o n te n t in a t r u s t e d digital archive. We use in f o r m a t io n tech n o lo g y and tools to increase p ro d u c t iv i ty and facil ita te new fo r m s o f scholarsnip . For m o re in f o r m a t io n about TSTOR, please co n ta c t su pp o r t@ js to r .o rg . Your use o f th e TSTOR arch ive indicates y o u r acceptance o f th e T erm s & Conditions o f Use, available at h t t p s : / / a b o u t . jk to r .o rg / te rm s :cci ® This c o n te n t is licensed u n de r a Creative Com m ons A t tr ib u t io n -N o n C o m m e rc ia l 4.0 In te rn a t io n a l License (CC BY-NC 4.0). To view a copy o f th i s license, v is i t h t t p s : / / c r e a t iv e c o m m o n s .o rg / l i c e n s e s /b y -n c /4 .0 / . Bristo l U n ive rsity Press and Po iicy Press are co llaborating w i th TSTOR to d ig itize , p rese rve and extend access to The triple b ind o f single-parent fam ilies JSTOR http://www.jstor.com/stable/j.ctt2204rvq.23 mailto:support@jstor.org https://about.jktor.org/terms https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Policies and practices for single parents in lceland support is still needed for the fathers w ho do not share residency w ith their children to fully participate in the care o f their young children. The interplay of the policies T he family m atrix presented in Table 17.3 provides insight in to how public support for different types o f single-parent families plays out in reality. An example o f a single-parent family living in Reykjavik w ith two children (aged five and seven) is used as the basis for calculations. T he single parents are then placed in four different hypothetical situations: unem ployed, working full time for m inim um wage, receiving a disability pension and being a student. For each o f these four situations, the disposable household incom e is calculated for both the single m other w ho shares legal residence w ith the child and the nonresident father. Even though many children o f single-parent families split their time 50/50 between parents, the family matrix clearly shows that the total income of the residential parent is much liigher than the total incom e o f the parent w ho does no t share legal residence with their children. Tliis has been criticised by scholars, parental organisations and pohcy maker$ (Eydal & Friðriksdóttir, 2012; Eydal & Hilmarsson, 2012). Furtherm ore, the m atrix clearly shows that using the time to study while being a single parent is beneficial in the short term (due to family benefit not being cut because o f the student loans) and in the long term (due to people w ho finish their education being more Likely to find sustainable employment). T he repayment o f the student loan is 3 .75 - 4.75% of one’s wages, depending on what year the loan was taken out. The fam ily-benefit system has been criticised for being illogical, and it ías been argued that no one can fully explain the goals o f the system anymore (Kristjánsson, 2011). This issue has been addressed in Bills in parliament and proposals to revise the family policy, but no proposal has gained sufficient support (Alþingi, 2016; Eydal & Gíslason, 2015). Thus, despite major changes in society and legislation towards a dual-earner/dual-carer model, the benefit system developed in 1946-62 is still more or less in place. This benefit system was based on the idea that the child lives full tim e w ith the resident parent, and the nonresident parent is obligated to pay a specific m inim um am ount regardless their financial situation or the level o f contact they have with their children. T he residential parent receives all the state support: family benefits, m other/fa ther wages and other cliild-related benefits. Keeping in m ind the emphasis on the child’s right to care from both parents in family law, and the equal entidements o f both parents to paid 393 This contcnt downloaded from 130.208.175.18 onFri. 19Jun 2020 10:32:32 UTC All usc subjcct to https://about.jstor.org/tcrm s https://about.jstor.org/tcrms The triple bind of single-parent families Table 17.3: Family matrix: Single mothers that share legal residence with two chíldren age 5 and 9 and the children's non-resident father, both parents unemp oyed, employed with minimum wages and receiving disability pension, lceland 20 16 Benefit ; and income per month Single mother Father of the chíldren Type of income Unemployed Unemployed Unempl'oyment benefits (100%) Additiori with two children Income tax Mainterance Mother'; wages Family benefits Total di ;posable income 202,054 202,054 16,164 None -28,904 -23,103 53,390 -53,390 8,531 None 63,474 None 314,709 125,561 Type of ncome Minimum wages Fulltime work Minimum wages Full time work Income Income Mainten Mother’ ax ance wages Family benefits Total dis posable income 260,000 -47,786 53,390 8,531 59,296 331,431 260,000 -44,618 -53,390 None None 162,442 Type of ncome Disabitity pension 100% Disability pension 10 0% Disability Income Maintena Child Mother' Family b Total di pen pension ax nce sion wages snefits posable income 236,845 236,845 -39,188 -36,021 53,390 -53,398 53,390 53,390 8,531 None 61,611 None 374,579 200,824 Type of income Student loan 100% Student loan 100% Student loan Income tax Maintenance Mother's wages Family benefits* Total disposable income 309,290 None 53,390 8,531 68,133 439,334 172,788 + 53,398 None -53,398 0 0 172,788 Note: *based on the assumption that the student's income is lower than the ceiling for income Usting of family benefits. Sources: Tryggingarstofnun rlkislns, n.d. Lánasjóður Islenskra námsmanna, n.d., Rlkisskattstjóri, n.d.^Vlnnumálastofnun, n.d.jown calculations parental leave, the emphasis on one parent receiving all the incom e suppor': for the child makes the benefit system a historical laggard and out o f ouch w ith the reality o f most single-parent families. 394 T his contcnt dow nloadcd from 130.208.175.18 on Fri, I9 J u n 2020 10:32:32 UTC All use subjcct to https://aboul.jstor.org/term s https://aboul.jstor.org/terms