We study parabolic iterated
function systems with overlaps on the real line. We show that if a d-parameter family
of such systems satisfies a transversality condition, then for almost every parameter
value the Hausdorff dimension of the limit set is the minimum of 1 and the least zero
of the pressure function. Moreover, the local dimension of the exceptional set of
parameters is estimated. If the least zero is greater than 1, then the limit
set (typically) has positive Lebesgue measure. These results are applied
to some specific families including those arising from a class of continued
fractions.