Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

A recent EU study of one-parent families showed that 50% of lone parents find life difficult. The research for the report was conducted in Ireland and throughout Europe. The report shows there is a difficulty in this sector.

The Minister spoke about child poverty. Why was there no increase in the last ten years in the child dependant allowance? The person who wrote the article in The Irish Times should spend a week with a lone parent with two or three children and see how they survive. He will see the misery of what they go through. I and other practising politicians see it all the time.

When this controversy arose, the Minister said he would thoroughly examine the one-parent payment. Suggestions were made regarding cohabitation. What proposals does the Department have with regard to allowing people to live together and providing for a proper disregard? In some cases the social welfare system does not encourage families to live together but works against it. This is due to the restrictive guidelines about what they can earn. In situations where two people are on social welfare or where one person is on social welfare and the other is in a low paid job, they will lose their rent allowance, medical card and other payments to which they are entitled.

Last year, the previous Minister and the Government in general spoke about what they would do for lone parents and people living in poverty. However, they then imposed the 16 savage cuts. Deputy O'Dea was Minister of State at the Department which produced a study that showed that if these people were caught at an early stage, re-educated and sent back into the workplace, most of them would leave the social welfare system. What was done instead? A provision was introduced whereby a person had to be 15 months out of education before he or she could qualify for the back to education allowance. The current Minister reduced that period to 12 months. We sought to reduce it to nine months in this Bill but that has not happened.

The cut in the crèche supplement and the other savage cuts affected women. A woman who calls to my constituency office has made an important point to me on many occasions. It might be appropriate for the Minister to speak to the Judiciary about women and how they suffer. I can give a simple example. One of my constituents was, correctly, convicted of drunk driving. While the judge imposed a massive fine, the man's wife wished he had been sent to jail. It would have been easier for her to manage had he been sent to jail. The husband did not give a damn because he intended to drink anyway. However, his wife would still have to pay the fine out of her social welfare money. When judges impose such fines, they should consider it carefully and find out if the person is on social welfare. If the husband has a drink problem and is behaving irresponsibly, the judge knows he will not give a damn. He will drink each night regardless and the wife will try to pay the fine. She will try to borrow it from her family or from somebody else. That puts major pressure on the family, as I have seen many times over the years.

The Minister should conduct a complete review of the one-parent family payment. It is not popular to say it but if cohabitation is taking place, the social welfare system should work with the people involved rather than against them. That will benefit both the State and the family unit. There are many cases where women could have a partner to live with them and help them raise the children but they cannot do it because of the social welfare code. It is time there was a debate on this. The Minister and the Department should examine this issue to find a way of improving the lot of these people. The debate has begun and should continue. The Department should watch it carefully.

As I have asked on many previous occasions, why are there three rates of payment for children? Someday, somebody will take a test case about this to the courts and they will win. There are three rates —€21.60, €19.30 and €16.80. Why can it not just be one rate of €21.60? The three children are equal. I have raised this issue on many occasions. What is the difference with the children who are getting €19.30 and €16.80? Under the Constitution we are obliged to treat all children equally. The Minister should examine this in the next budget and bring all the rates up to €21.60.

Over the years it has been proven by statistics that women spend their child benefit on children. It is important the money is targeted to deal with child poverty because much poverty and hardship exists and many on social welfare find life very difficult. It was stated that parents with one or two children on social welfare would receive approximately €200 per week. How can anybody live on €200 in this country, given the stealth taxes?

The most serious problem which I encountered this week in regard to Mayo County Council is that when claimants, particularly women, receive social welfare increases, the first form to come through the door is an income query from the local council, which takes a percentage of their social welfare payment from them. The second body to take from their payments is the ESB. I have asked the Minister to investigate this. I have never heard as many complaints about increases in ESB charges as in recent months. People find it difficult——

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