Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Kellaghan for that response. On the flip side the advantage is that if a person's wages increase the FIS payment does not decrease. I refer to the cohort of people who get caught every year; people such as lollipop ladies, school canteen staff and postal workers in some cases. I know a post woman who gives up work for the summer because her children are on holidays from school. She has to surrender her FIS payment and apply to have it re-instated at the end of the holidays.

I put this point to the Minister of State in the course of a debate in the Seanad. He said the Department would investigate. The JobsPlus scheme pays employers to take on employees. I suggested that a similar payment could be an incentive - not the same amount - for employers to provide flexible working hours for lone parents so that they could work around school hours and be available to care for their children, thereby avoiding the need for child care which is a significant issue for parents. This suggestion might warrant a discussion by the committee at a later date.

I have concern for people who work as home helps. They could have one hour a day for five days. They cannot draw the transitional payment because they are working every day. They will be very badly hit. I ask the Department to consider if these people can be helped. For example, they could work four hours a day next week for five days a week depending on whom they are helping or where they are needed. This is not confined to the transitional payment-----