Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

It would need a crystal ball to say the Minister will argue this. It is dangerous. The Minister should delete this section of the Bill until child care provisions are in place.

I listened the other night to Mr. Jim Power, the expert and chief economist who told us we were going to be in for a soft landing and who haggled with Professor Morgan Kelly about this four or five years ago. Essentially, Mr. Power talked about lone parenthood being a lifestyle choice. I hope we do not get back to that kind of nonsense. One would want to have masochistic tendencies to select a lifestyle that is leading in the poverty stakes. The one group that consistently comes out as the most at risk of poverty is households that are headed by a lone parent. It is part of the reason I believe the Minister wants to change that. However, let us see the total package if we are going to proceed along those lines.

The Government said it wants to protect the headline rates. However, many other things are affected by the fact the headline rates are protected and, given the social welfare budget has been cut, some of them are causing serious pain.

I want to ask the Minister about an issue that is not in the Bill, namely, community employment schemes, in particular the training allowance and the materials allowance. I confess I have a vested interest since I am on the board of the County Kildare Centre for the Unemployed. It is somewhat ironic that this is a service for the unemployed. I do not believe these centres can continue to operate if the current situation prevails. What is in the Bill in this regard? Will there be any change? Will the Minister make a note of it and come back to me? Perhaps I will discuss the matter with her again. I am concerned that since it is not in the Bill, there will not be an opportunity for a review.

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