Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Can we get rid of the red herrings? More than most, lone parents know that it is better to be in work if they can find any because it makes them better off. The proof of the pudding is that before the Tánaiste started her cuts in 2012, most lone parents were working. She is now putting pressure on them to leave work because they will lose up to 20% of their incomes. I am not saying this, SPARK and lone parents are saying it. They have already exposed one mistake made by the Tánaiste in respect of carers, who are also workers. She recognised that what she was doing was unfair. Will she please recognise that what she is proposing to do in this context will lead to a loss of income for working lone parents and is likely to drive them out of work and into poverty? Will the Tánaiste reconsider?

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