Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Minister's predecessor broke a promise in 2001, so the Minister should make sure that it is increased to the promised level. The last time there was a downturn in the economy, child benefit was one of the first cutbacks. I will monitor this issue in December when the budget is published to ensure the Minister gives what he promised. I hope this will be done.

I want the Minister to examine another issue. It is a simple issue. I encountered an anomaly during the summer in respect of foster care involving four children. Their parents died of cancer within two years of each other. The four children applied for the back to school clothing and footwear scheme. I appealed on their behalf to the community welfare officer. Because they are exempt from the legislation, they are not entitled to avail of the back to school clothing and footwear scheme. This is a household without a mother and father and with four children. However, they do not qualify for this scheme. I ask the Minister on his return to his office this evening to sign an order permitting community welfare officers to pay foster children under this scheme.

The Minister should not use the excuse employed by the Health Service Executive which was that the non-payment is due to their existing payments. This is supposed to supplement existing payments for children when they return to school. I ask the Minister to deal with this matter immediately. It is an anomaly which must be dealt with quickly because there is no point in having a back to school clothing and footwear scheme when one has four orphaned children with only a young woman to look after them who do not qualify. I ask the Minister to deal with that, to get his officials to look at it and to sign the necessary regulations so that these people can be paid.

Another issue I have come across recently has been that of lone parents. I hope when the Minister responds, he outlines how he might be able to do something for them, possibly by putting a scheme together so that lone parents may be able to live with their partners without losing their lone parent allowance. However, there is another anomaly in respect of young girls who have had children and who have gone back to education. This year I have encountered two such cases one involving a young girl of 17 who had a baby and wants to go back into full-time education. When she went to the community welfare officer looking for some assistance with rent allowance, the officer would not give it to her. If we are serious about poverty traps, then surely such a girl should be helped, as she wants to get back into education so that she and her child will not be dependent on social welfare for the rest of their lives. If such people do not get a bit of assistance, they will not be able to stay in the education system. The State will suffer as a result because these people will remain in the poverty trap, uneducated. At least they are trying now, by going back to college with a view to entering the workplace afterwards. I hope the Minister looks at these cases immediately. Due to regulations from the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the community welfare officers have the right to make their own judgment in certain cases, but in these cases they claim it is due to legislation.

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