Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Whether it is lone parents or unemployed people, some of the programmes on which the delegates spoke are designed to bring people back into education and training and, particularly, into an employment programme that will ultimately give them secure employment and financial independence. This is very important. Whether one is a lone parent or an unemployed person, accessing training and education helps. The more available these programmes are, the better the chance we have of bringing people out of what is known as the cycle of poverty. One thing Mr. McKeon stated in his presentation jumped off the page at me. This is in the document dated 18 February. It states, "However, notwithstanding the availability of this support, and as members of the committee will be aware, lone parent families continue to experience high rates of 'consistent poverty' compared to the population generally." Will Mr. McKeon expand on what he means by "consistent poverty"?