Ms Norah Gibbons:

I did not mean to suggest that Deputy Byrne or indeed anybody was critical of lone parents. I know from my own work with lone parents that they can be very good parents. As a country we are doing much better at retaining children in second level education. That is one of the positive findings in our recent state of the nation report. There was much work to be done in the areas of education and youth work, which is now under the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. That has been pulled together in terms of helping people to make good decisions in many areas. I note the Deputy's concern about it. All things being equal, if one can put off starting a family until a later point in life, one is much better suited to be a parent. One has much more energy and one knows what one wants if one is not trying to grow up while one is parenting, although many of us do our growing up once we have children of our own for whom we are responsible. However, I note what Deputy Byrne said.