Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

It is probably ironic that we are debating this Bill on the same day on which I introduced a Private Members' Bill designed to allow for abortion. In the run-up to its introduction, many were clamouring and demanding rights for so-called unborn children. I contrast this with the virtual silence on the deprivation and dire straits many children born in this country experience on a daily basis. A report in yesterday's edition of The Irish Times indicated that, according to the Irish health behaviour in school-aged children survey, in 2010 one in five children in this country had either gone to school or bed hungry because there was not enough food in their homes. This represents a massive increase on the previous figure. In the main, the children to whom I refer are in the lower socio-economic groups and generally quite young.

All of the studies and many of the slightly off-mainstream media outlets have focused on the dramatic rise in the level of inequality in Ireland during the current recession. People in receipt of jobseeker's allowance, lone parent's allowance, etc., are among those experiencing the highest levels of deprivation. In recent years and in statistical terms, the gap between the rich and the poor has widened unacceptably. This was graphically highlighted in the case of lone parents, even prior to the most recent budget. The National Women's Council - thanks to the great work of many of the campaigning groups - was able to reveal at the time that it was lone-parent households which had reported the highest levels of deprivation in Irish society. Almost 63% of individuals from these households experience one or more forms of deprivation. This compares with a figure of 29% for those who experience more than one form of deprivation at an overall State level. Over 44% of individuals in lone-parent households experience two or more forms of deprivation. It must be remembered that 98% of lone parents are women. I do not believe it is possible to repeat these statistics often enough. It is absolutely necessary to view the Bill in context of the fact that the most vulnerable, deprived, marginal and poorest people in our society are lone parents.

What does the Government propose to do about this matter? It has introduced the Bill which actually makes matters worse. This legislation represents what is probably the most dramatic shift in social policy that has ever taken place in Ireland in the treatment of children and parents. It is astounding that the very group which survey after survey has deemed to be the most vulnerable in society is being targeted to shoulder the brunt of the cuts in this instance. It has come as a real shock to those - mainly women - who are in the position of being lone parents and the groups which represent them that these proposals have emanated from a Department which is headed by someone who is both a woman and a Labour Party Minister. People are finding this really difficult to take. What is happening is extremely ironic, particularly when considered in the context of the speech the Minister made when she was her party's spokesperson on finance prior to the previous budget when she made the point that it was reprehensible that cutbacks had been targeted at women and children. She attributed this to the fact that the senior ministerial position was not occupied by a woman, yet here she is in the driving seat and bringing forward what is probably the most regressive measure relating to lone parents and vulnerable children that has ever been introduced. What is happening is disgraceful, particularly when one considers that those who caused the economic crisis, namely, those who engaged in speculation and profiteering in the property market and irresponsible bankers, have left the country to shoulder a massive financial burden. The price being demanded is being put on the shoulders of women and children, which is absolute madness.

We must take a step back. The groups campaigning against this Bill have done us a great service by isolating the shift in policy to which this is leading. The group is Seven is too Young! , and the group does not argue this wilfully. The argument is well founded in international research taking in areas like the United States, where similar legislation has been introduced and the impact of that shift has been devastating to poorer women and their children. We saw very good articles in the newspapers last week signed by leading academics, quoting international research, which indicates that leaving people in a position with no proper child care support means low-income one-parent families are left with the option of either living with children in poverty or taking up very low-paid work and neglecting young children at home. The problems caused by this for society in the long run are almost unquantifiable. It is truly anti-family and anti-women, and this is exemplified in the level of deprivation that already exists.

Previous all-party Oireachtas committees dealing with such issues have argued that there should be no reform of social welfare policy until child care and other supports are in place, which has not happened yet. The idea of pushing lone parents into non-existent training schemes for jobs that are not there - forcing them to abandon children at home when they reach seven years old - is absolutely ridiculous. Even at this late hour I appeal to the Minister to abandon the process, as it is very narrow-minded and will cause significant problems for lone parents. It is completely the wrong way to deal with the economic crisis, as we should be implementing more support rather than less.

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