Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy mentioned figures and the cost of the working family payment. In 2016, big changes were made in the lone parents' reforms, so that would have started a drop in figures. The changes that we made then reduced the number plus, as the Deputy said, another reason is the labour market.

We are promoting the working family payment and we hope the number of people availing of it will increase. Like the Deputy, we want to make work pay. Apart from all that, working and getting out into the world is good for people's mental health. People feel more fulfilled when they can go out and go to work but that is my personal view.

As I said earlier, we are working on the design of the new working age payment policy. We will consult the public on the policy. Again, our principal drive is that we should award people who go out to work.