John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Simonetta Ryan, Mr. Niall Egan, Ms Erika Klein and Ms Fiona Ward from the Department of Social Protection. As they will appreciate, the committee is nearing conclusion of its piece of work on lone parents. The Department officials, as the opening witnesses, set out the issue for committee members. The committee then heard submissions from a number of other witnesses. Before we commence work on the drafting of our report, members would like to put some questions to the officials based on what those witnesses had to say.

I will first put my questions to the officials, following which I will then allow questions from members. I understand the Department is to undertake a review of the lone-parent issue. Perhaps the officials would set out what format that review will take, the timeframe for the review and whether it will be a quantitative review or if qualitative measures are also being reviewed. As the committee would like to support rather than duplicate the work of the Department, perhaps the officials would provide some insight into its work in that regard.