Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí go léir a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht seo. Measaim gur díospóireacht bhríomhar a bhí ann. In ainneoin nach n-aontaím go hiomlán le gach rud a deir siad, tá sé ceart buíochas a ghabháil leo agus mo bhrón a ghabháil leo siúd ar chuir mé as dóibh mar measaim féin go bhfuil an cheist seo chomh tábhachtach sin gur chóir go mbeadh sí fírinneach agus gur chóir go mbeadh sé bríomhar chomh maith.

I reject the repeated claims made by the Tánaiste that lone parents are being protected by a safety net. This is the same safety net that she has continually cut during her tenure as Minister for Social Protection and now also as Tánaiste. It is clear that she and many who contributed to the debate are not living in the real world and continue to ignore the pleas of the thousands of lone parents who now face harsh cuts.

The Tánaiste said yesterday that the aim of this measure was to lock down poverty and joblessness. She went on to say the cuts to lone parents would actually help them to get back on their feet, build financial independence and build better lives for themselves and their families. She quoted the SILC statistics without making the link that it was her actions that helped contribute to the worsening situation as outlined in SILC through previous cuts to the one-parent family payment, the lack of investment in social housing and the JobBridge scheme which replaced many of the entry level and part-time jobs which would have been available to lone parents in the past.

In relation to the North, as Deputy Gerry Adams said, citizens there have only been protected due to the continued opposition to the Tory cuts by Sinn Féin representatives. Meanwhile the Tánaiste herself has never raised any voice in opposition to Tory cuts in the North or to cuts to the block grant. In this Chamber, Labour Party and Fine Gael Deputies make cheap political points at the expense of citizens in the North, but when the Tánaiste had an opportunity to stand up for lone parents in the North, and others who are dependent on social welfare, she did absolutely nothing.

She did not even open her gob during the very little time she spent at the entire Stormont House Agreement negotiations. She did not open her gob to protect them, to demand extra money or the reversal of the Tory cuts that had already been introduced, yet she has accused me of making cheap political points about child care provision for people participating in community employment schemes. I have done no such thing. Members of this Chamber know my record on the issue of seeking to enhance the community employment scheme, not only for lone parents but also for others in receipt of social welfare payments. It is one of the major schemes that should have been protected, not cut, as she has done. We need to enhance rather than cut these schemes.

The Tánaiste has tried her best to make the reductions she has introduced. Given that the changes will take effect in an hour and a half, there is still an opportunity for the Government to row back. However, I am not holding my breath. The Tánaiste has tried to portray these measures as positive. There is nothing positive for the thousands of people who have already been or will be negatively affected by the cuts to the one-parent family payment. There is nothing positive about reneging on commitments to provide a Scandinavian model of child care. Labour Party Deputies did not mention the promise their leader had made in the Chamber when introducing these changes, that she would not proceed with them unless there was a bankable commitment. There is not even a mention of a bankable commitment, never mind anything else, on the promise she made.

The Tánaiste failed to say what would happen to those who were unable to find the 19 hours of work per week required to reach the FIS payment threshold. Everybody who knows someone who work few hours knows that it is very difficult to increase these hours and that, in some cases, those who ask for more hours lose their jobs. Many lone parents work in schools and the Government would have them seek more hours of work from the schools the payments of which it has cut. It does not work like that. The people in question work three hours a day, not including the summer months, which is less than 15 hours per week when calculated across an entire year.

I repeat my question and I am not scoffing at the Tánaiste. If the Government believes child benefit is a very valuable part of our child support structure, why was it cut? There is no answer. If the Government believes the one-parent family payment is part of a safety net, why is it cutting it specifically in this instance for many who are already in work? Those in work will be most acutely affected by it, which gives the lie to the argument that this measure is aimed at those who have been languishing in receipt of social welfare payments for four, seven, eight or 20 years, or whatever figure the Minister of State dreamed up when he came into the Chamber. The €5 per month increase in child benefit announced last year and the possibility of another €5 increase which the Tánaiste seemed to be touting yesterday will all be gobbled up by the water tax which the Government is introducing. The water charges will be taken from the pockets of the same people who will be affected if the Government gets its way tomorrow and Friday. At least the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, admitted that up to 10,000 claimants and, in particular, their children would be negatively affected.

All the lone parents I know have asked for increased hours or would love a job, but they have not been able to secure them. As one parent stated in a recent e-mail to me: "There are so many parents like me who are terrified and at our wits end because we simply feel that we and our children are not being heard." Another parent wrote:

Give "single parents an incentive to return to work"? An incentive is a thing that motivates or encourages someone to do something. I can see how this legislation will be a fabulous incentive for struggling families as starvation is definitely a motivating factor for any mother bear. I'm delighted to see that Joan and I share a passion for wildlife documentaries and that the law of the jungle plays such an integral part in the formation of Irish legislation.

Táim ag impí ar an Rialtas machnamh a dhéanamh ar seo. Tá níos lú ná uair go leith ann go dtí an t-am cinniúna nuair a thiocfaidh an réimeas nua i gcumhacht agus nuair a bheidh ar thuismitheoirí teacht ar bhreis airgid nach ann dó. Tá an Rialtas ag déanamh iarracht bualadh síos orthu siúd atá ag obair ar feadh níos lú ná 19 uair a chloig sa tseachtain suas go dtí €60 nó €70 sa tseachtain. Is é sin atá i gceist. Beidh ar go leor de na daoine sin casadh athuair ar bheith ag brath go huile is go hiomlán ar an gcóras leasa shóisialaigh seachas a bheith ag obair. Molaim an rún seo agus impím ar dhaoine tacú leis.

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