Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, lone parents have been at a much greater risk of poverty primarily due, as Deputy McDonald will be aware and will have to appreciate, to them being absent from the workforce for most of their working life, and that is an issue that is being addressed here in these reforms. That scenario is not a good one for a parent and it is not a good one for a child. The reforms that are taking place here are aimed at addressing this social inclusion, poverty and long-term welfare dependency issue. That is what is being addressed in these reforms.

I accept that a number of issues have arisen during this reform process and those issues have been addressed and substantially resolved by the Tánaiste. For example, we have addressed the carer's allowance issues by ensuring that a lone parent caring for his or her child continues with the current arrangements. We have ensured that those back in education can continue to access their SUSI maintenance grant while retaining their underlying payment. We have introduced the back-to-work family dividend that will support lone parents back into work over two years. The real objective here is to get lone parents as far as possible back into the workplace. Lone parents automatically have their family income supplement, FIS, payment re-rated. We have asked the Labour Market Council to engage with employers to ensure that they are aware of the reforms and that they offer, where possible, extra hours that work for lone parents and recognise a situation that a certain cohort of those affected will have to address. We have kept the income disregard for working lone parents at €90 per week. We have introduced a number of child care options. We also introduced the jobseeker's transitional payment in recognition that more work needs to be done in this area.

There is an interdepartmental group, which the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Reilly, has formed, examining the child care issue that the Deputy raised. That is an issue. We have more work to do, as a Government and as a country, on the child care aspect. That is true, not only for lone parents but for families generally. Something to which we, as a country, must face up is that we definitely need to improve that area as soon as possible.

The Tánaiste recognises the sacrifice and contribution that lone parents make to raising their children. The State provides one-parent family payment income support up until the youngest child reaches the age of seven and no other country in Europe has an arrangement like that in place.

We introduced the jobseeker's allowance transition payment, which supports lone parents with children over the age of seven and up to the age of 14. Such parents do not have to be available and genuinely seeking work, but they have to engage with their local Intreo office on activation measures. When we say that people can be directed to go to the Intreo office, commentators might say that is not enough and it is not a sufficient answer. However, it could be part of the answer for lone parents where they can get genuine support, where they can have employment counselling and where they can as far as possible be supported to get back into the workplace because that is what we want. The best route out of poverty, as I hope the Deputy will agree, is employment. That is what we seek to achieve here.

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