Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)

A lone parent with three children was better off under the previous Fianna Fáil Government than under a Labour Party Minister. Lone parents were better off to the tune of €207 per week under Fianna Fáil and the Minister cannot spin or review her way out of that. Labour is making lone parents poorer. This is at a time when the Government has paid the former Anglo Irish Bank, a zombie financial institution, billions of euros of our money. It is taking money out of the pockets of working class people and using it to line those of faceless, unguaranteed bondholders. This is something which the Government is not legally bound to do.

However, it does so because it has its priorities wrong. The Government values Anglo Irish Bank bondholders more than lone parent community employment scheme participants and the communities in which we live. It took Fianna Fáil 13 years to be accused of being out of touch. It has taken the Government 11 months. For the sake of those in need in our society, I hope it does not take it as long as it took Fianna Fáil to go down the tubes.

Deputy Mulherin made a very valuable contribution. She has stated community employment schemes in her constituency are in turmoil, that funding should not be cut prior to a review and that the Minister was badly advised. I hope she will vote with this side of the House. I urge all Government Deputies who have expressed concerns about the cuts made, in particular Deputy Mulherin and Labour Party Deputies who have not been present in the Chamber for much of the debate, to reflect on how they will vote. Many of them were involved in managing and establishing community employment schemes. They now have a very important opportunity to defend them, as they know the services they provide. If they vote against the motion, they will not be able to face their constituents again. They will have lost credibility with the projects and people they once defended. Sinn Féin would welcome the support of Fine Gael and Labour Party Deputies for the motion because it is about defending services, not about parties. They should stand up for their communities and the ordinary people participating in schemes by supporting the motion to stop the cuts being made.

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