Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I do not know if the Tánaiste has read the report, Women, Austerity and Inequality, by Ursula Barry and Pauline Conroy, commissioned by the National Women’s Council of Ireland and TASC. I do not know what figures the Tánaiste is plucking out of the air but I will outline for her a few conclusions from this report. It concluded that equality was cast aside as a marginal issue in the big picture of crisis, and that lone parents, the low paid and poor were special targets for raising cash to recapitalise the banks. I do not have time to expand on this in the 30 seconds I have left, but the Tánaiste might read the report.

People know what is in their pockets. The Tánaiste broke two promises that the Labour Party made in the last general election campaign. It has imposed child benefit cuts. It promised that it would not introduce the one-parent family cut for seven-year olds unless there was a Scandinavian-style child care. The Tánaiste said that last July, but is going ahead regardless. She spoke earlier about after-school clubs. They cost money and whatever scheme the Government has set up, the clubs are available in only a very few schools. The idea that women can just leave their seven-year old children to become "latchkey kids", as it is termed, to bail out the banks is disgraceful. Those children already have only one parent in the home with them and Deputy Tuffy thinks that children can mind themselves from 1.30 p.m. until 6 p.m. The Labour Party has stooped to an incredible low in its attack on women.

See this speech in context