Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What the Government is proposing for lone parents is not nearly as noble as that articulation suggests. It is proposing to force many parents with very young children into a position where they have no option but to work outside the home, irrespective of the type of job they might find. Did the Minister notice that the OECD ranked us second, just above the United States, in terms of low-paid employment? Will that be the legacy of the Labour Party as part of the Government? That does not shout "equality" or "quality employment" loud and clear.

Of course, there is no magic in any of this.

Specifically, I put it to the Minister that the reason the equality budgeting idea is so important now as he speaks of recovery is the notable gallop by his Government the minute there is any notion of recovery to head straight for reductions in the higher tax rate. That suggests to me and to the broader public that, far from being interested in repairing the damage the Government has inflicted on communities or taking any equality measures, the Labour Party, true to Fine Gael form, will go along with a taxation measure that clearly has not been equality proofed. Equality is the last thing on the Minister's mind as he floats this idea before the general public.

See this speech in context