Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not intended to reverse it, and I will explain to Deputy Martin why. The Government has a particular programme to make work pay. We cannot allow a situation, in an economy that is recovering like ours, which bypasses thousands of households that are locked into joblessness. That has been one of the real difficulties for so many families. Jobless households with children are at particular risk of perpetuating a cycle of poverty that goes on from generation to generation.

See this speech in context