Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I appreciate that but it will not help people in the circumstances I have described. The Minister has stated one cannot receive two payments. If the man in question had a child of his own, he would receive another payment. Foster allowance is not a payment for the adult providing foster care but a payment to meet the expenses that result from fostering a child. The man to whom I referred must give up his job and, therefore, has no income of his own. It strikes me that he should be entitled to receive the one-parent family payment as a consequence but he is being denied it because of the way the legislation is worded. As I stated, none of the Minister's officers would say he should be denied it. They recognise that a very definite anomaly needs to be dealt with by changing the legislation. Regardless of the Minister's intentions in this regard, it will be a long time before he has an opportunity to change the legislation. I, therefore, urge him to accept my amendment.

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