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

I thank the witnesses for their opening statements. This discussion is part of a process and it should not be viewed in isolation. In advance of the budget, the Minister will sit on that side of the room and committee members, who will have read submissions and heard testimony from other organisations, will address those issues directly to the Minister. For the witnesses' information, the committee last year submitted a significant piece of work on lone parents. That report was published and we challenged the Minister with it in last year's budget. To be fair to the Minister, some issues were addressed. Members have discussed this and while the report may be a year old, the recommendations and the findings are as relevant today as when the report was published. We will be re-focusing on this with the Minister. I want to give the witnesses a sense that this is not just a one-day appearance. This engagement is in preparation for a meeting the committee will have. The testimony and opening statements that we hear today, along with the other pre-budget submissions, will be addressed to the Minister by the committee. I wanted the witnesses to understand this.