Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

The Government's discussion paper proposals for supporting lone parents includes proposals in this regard and I thank all those involved in working on this reforming document.

It proposes the abolition of the cohabitation rule as a condition for receipt of a new social assistance payment and proposes to replace the lone parent's allowance with a new social assistance payment aimed at supporting children in low income families irrespective of the make-up of those families. That is an important reform that we must press ahead with as soon as possible. The groups involved have asked us to develop other services alongside it in parallel, such as child care, and I accept that point.

While we are pressing ahead with this, and it is receiving substantial attention in the Department, we increased the upper income limit for the one-parent family payment from €293 to €400 per week, the figure recommended in the proposals. I have started to implement the contents of the document by making that decision.

A group of senior officials is examining social inclusion and it is drawing up an implementation plan that will look at non-income elements, such as training, education and other services, that must be brought along at the same time. The Department, with the co-operation of FÁS and the Departments of Health and Children and Education and Science, has decided to test these proposals in both an urban and a rural setting and we will get on with those tests as a matter of urgency. They will focus on identifying and resolving practical administrative issues that may arise.

It would be appropriate to test some of the issues Deputy Penrose mentioned to see if there are any unintended consequences. The tests will also allow logistical co-ordination between Departments as we move towards the development of the new scheme.

I would have liked to come before the House with a Bill on this matter. As Deputy Penrose said, it is better to be sure and get it right because a good deal of work has gone into it. I am confident that the momentum built up, the fact that we have already implemented substantial parts of the financial aspects and the agreement now reached will allow us to bring forward the legislation, remove the cohabitation condition and replace the one parent family allowance with one targeted at low income families, whatever their make-up.

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