Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)

The Labour Party supports the initiation of such discussions and proposals to get them out in the open. Supports must be as simple and understandable as possible and adequate to prevent poverty and ensure individuals' rights to be treated equally. The co-ordination of supports of a consistent standard across Departments must also be pursued. It is important that lone parents would be treated as individuals, not as dependent on someone else. It is also important that the structures and systems would change to facilitate the full and equal participation of those who are parenting alone.

The main issue is access to quality, affordable child care. This is critical for lone parents who wish to participate in the labour market. How will the child care needs of lone parents living in areas where child care is minimal or unavailable be met? Will after-school care be provided and will school holidays be covered? Will assistance be provided for the transport of the children of lone parents to school if lone parents cannot do so because they are participating in education, training or employment? It is only fair that educational and training options and community employment schemes are flexible. A significant number of lone parents participate in CE schemes because they are flexible, locally based, part-time and do not bring about a decrease in income by allowing the preservation of secondary benefits.

I compliment Frances Byrne and Camille Loftus, in particular, for the excellent work they have done in analysing this issue. They have stated that the welfare to work proposal will, ironically, and despite the Minister's best efforts, create a major poverty trap, and they have serious reservations about the practical impact of the proposed reforms. The withdrawal of the parental allowance will create serious poverty traps unless significant reform takes place of other elements of social welfare and the tax system. They stated poverty traps would arise, primarily because of the re-application of the limitation rule when the parental allowance finishes and the more stringent means of assessment applied to unemployment payments. These poverty traps will mostly affect the people who are doing what the Minister and society want of them, namely, going out to work for a living.

Has the Minister studied the submission from OPEN, which illustrates the disparity in income of two lone parents living next to each other, one with a child aged five and one with a child aged eight, both working the same hours on the minimum wage? If they both work 12 hours a week, one person's income will be €74.31 per week or €3,864 per annum lower than the other. If both work 20 hours a week, the income of one person will be €88.93 per week or €4,624 per annum less than the other. This is owing to the involvement of age limitations. The early child care supplement will go at age six. The parental allowance will go at age eight and we will create a major poverty trap. I say this to the Minister, not in a——

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