Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

We accept that. I would like to engage with Members in respect of the proposal relating to one-parent families on Committee Stage. I listened carefully to many of the points raised in respect of it during this debate. As already stated, the proposal is part of a much wider package. I fully accept that if we are going to take this route, what we are doing will not work if we do not provide the necessary support services.

There is one aspect of this matter to which reference was not made. As a number of Members indicated, many single parents are in full-time employment. I accept that these people face a struggle each day.

It is not only a question of providing backup services to those who might go to work or are doing so part time but of continuing to provide services for those who are already working full time and have to spend considerable money on the provision of care-----

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