Mr. John Mark McCafferty:

I must respond to a question directed at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul earlier. I will then respond to the Deputy.

With regard to free GP care, it is those on the lowest incomes first. Then there is the size of the household and the number of dependants.

On gender proofing, the largest group we assist comprises lone parent households, that is, families headed by lone parents. We are carrying out a piece of related in-depth research which we will provide for the public later in the year or early next year. Clearly, big barriers have been placed on lone parent incomes as a result of the recent changes. We are very much in favour of assisting lone parents back into the labour market but into quality jobs and using an infrastructure of early childhood care and education which are really important. One cannot just cut the eligibility levels and simply let the market prevail.

With regard to the bottom line, our families and those we assist have come to the end of tether with the cuts, both in terms of income supports and services. Our bottom line, therefore, is that there should be no further cuts in that regard.