Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 9, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following:

"(3) The Minister shall, within 3 months of the commencement of this Act, lay before each House of the Oireachtas, a report on the link between receipt of lone parent allowance and the commencement of employment.

(4) The Minister shall, within 3 months of the commencement of this Act, lay before each House of the Oireachtas, a report on the progress made to support and encourage one parent families in entering the workforce.".

I am tabling these amendments, having discussed them on Second and Committee Stages, because we always seem to be a report away from a decision in terms of one parent families. Despite the Minister and her two immediate predecessors availing of frequent air time and newspaper pages to discuss this issue, they have talked around it. No changes that would substantially alter lives have resulted.

A number of issues are involved, the first of which Deputy Shortall outlined, namely, cohabitation and the poverty traps that might ensue if a couple decide to live together. Many people accept that this would be a preferable situation from the children's perspective, but it is impossible for many couples because of the way in which the payment has been structured.

Work is another issue, a report on which was recently launched by the Minister to join a number of other reports. In the most recent report, 84% of one parent families that responded to the survey stated that they were looking for work or were engaged in education or training. It is a concern that only 16% of those who engaged in work believed that they were better off as a result. The disincentive is immediately visible. Once people go out to work, the amount of money they bring home is not substantial enough to make it worth their while. One could not blame them for not being enticed into work. The unaffordability of quality child care and jobs not being financially worth their while were the highest ranked reasons for leaving work. In certain parts of the country, quality child care is not even available to those who could afford it.

I hope that the current Minister, one of three who has made the promise, will publish a report on one-parent families. The Government published a document several years ago, but a decision document is anticipated. Some of the Minister's interviews in this regard, particularly those given during the summer, caused me concern. I accept that the 84% would rather work or have education or training, but the impression given by the Minister is that people will be forced into work once their children reach a particular age. It is an unusual philosophy to develop when the level of unemployment is rising. I support the concept of allowing lone parents to work, as it is good for those who make the decision, but lone parents have the same rights as married and cohabiting couples if they choose to remain in the home to look after their families.

We must facilitate people's entrance into the workforce by providing quality child care and ensuring that their employment pays and is flexible, as lone parents often do not have someone to cover for them between 3.30 p.m. or 4 p.m. when their children finish school and when they finish work at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. We must also ensure that people have transportation to child care facilities and their workplaces.

The Minister's proposals must address the issues holistically. The "big stick" approach, where someone is given a choice between going out the door to get a job when his or her child reaches seven years of age or something else that is not yet known, will not work unless the other barriers are dealt with. I am not convinced that they have been addressed sufficiently. Nor am I convinced by the Government's commitment, given the messing around last year with child care facilities and the payment structures therein.

I will press the amendment, to which I will also speak in terms of increases, since our other attempts to do so were ruled out of order. As with the elderly and those in receipt of job seeker's allowance, one parent families find themselves at a great risk of poverty. They are four and a half times more likely to live in poverty, a statistic to which the Minister has alluded. Today's survey outlined improvements and, from the Minister's comments, many of the people in question had the opportunity to work. The right structures can pay off. Regardless of difficult circumstances, however, this year's increase in the payment will make life difficult for one parent families, given increases in the costs of food and fuel. There is no doubt that the changes in the child benefit and early child care supplement payments will hit those families the hardest.

It is disturbing that the Department does not keep a flow analysis of one parent family payments. From the information collated, we know how many people receive the payment, but no statistics are available on people who work for a period before receiving the payment again. Those statistics would reveal what barriers exist.

During the summer, the Minister announced the appointment of 50 facilitators who will work on a one-to-one basis with the 84,000 one parent families that are in receipt of State support and the 270,000 people on the live register who are in receipt of social welfare payments. That number of facilitators is not adequate and is evidence that the Government does not take this matter seriously. Pilot projects in respect of lone parents were launched in Coolock and Kilkenny, but those in Opposition have not yet seen the reports relating to these projects in order to discover if they have worked.

The Government has not done anything to facilitate one parent families, either from the perspective of the children or that of their parents. The report to which I refer and the findings relating to the pilot schemes should be made available to Members in order that we might discuss this matter in full. There should be no secrets about these projects. Regardless of whether they are good or bad, the findings that emerge will reflect the reality faced by one parent families. There is a need for a proper debate on this matter.

See this speech in context