Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the situation in respect of lone parents, we had very detailed discussions on this last year. One of the most important reforms to the social welfare system is the effort to create a situation where lone parents here move to a situation that exists in most other European countries and also the North, where their exclusive status as lone parents ends as the child reaches schoolgoing age. As has been said, a range of child care facilities are available for these children, including both preschool and after school facilities. It is important we move to that situation and I want to see that happening along the lines of what is available in a number of other countries at affordable prices for parents.

The second big change in which I have been involved over the past year in terms of social protection has been the launch of the new type social welfare system. This is not a passive social welfare system which leaves people on social welfare indefinitely, leaving them alone without re-approaching them with opportunities such as education, training, work experience or work. We must change our social welfare system from a passive system to an active one. As Members know, most people on social welfare would like to get a job, or if they cannot get a job, they would like to get the education or training that will make them job ready when employment opportunities become available.

With regard to this amendment, this is the reason that where we have lone parents whose children will age out over a number of years, we want to have appropriate facilities available for parents returning to education, training and work. We also want to have a situation where we do this for parents in a way that is structured. I launched the first Intreo offices of the new social welfare activation model with the Taoiseach in Sligo a couple of months ago and there are now ten such offices operational throughout the country, some of which are in Dublin, including one in Kings Inn Street.

Essentially, what I want for lone parents whose children are surpassing the age at which their status in the social welfare system is defined exclusively by virtue of the parent being a lone parent, is to see their status change.

I want to move to an approach that sees them as parents and children, rather than using the kinds of label we have used in this country for many good reasons for over 40 years. Parents should have a range of services. Their local social welfare officers should approach them to tell them in advance that a significant change is taking place. They should meet them to see how they can be helped to get back into education, training or work placement. We need to see how we can assist. That is what happens in many other countries across the EU. In that way, the social welfare offices and the Intreo offices will help people get to a new stage of opportunity in their lives. We have just started to roll out the first ten offices in full, and we will open a significant number of additional offices next year.

In this amendment, I have sought to allow more time to make those services available to people such as lone parents so they can avail fully of the services offered to them. That is the purpose behind the proposal in this amendment to put the date back by six months. In practice, the new date will probably help parents because it means we will talk to them in May and June - before the school holidays - as they start to think about new opportunities in September and October, when their children will be at school. Deputy Joan Collins mentioned that we are expanding child care opportunities by more than 6,000 places, encompassing both preschool and after-school care, in a similar way to many other EU countries. The Deputy knows from her own constituency that after-school care is extremely popular with parents and children. It is very successful. By pursuing this model, we can copy many of the good things that are done in other countries. We can also examine the good practices that have developed in this country, particularly in many community and family centres. I hope we will get an opportunity to discuss this in greater detail at a later stage. I have set out the purpose of this amendment.

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