Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The first point I would make about lone parents is that, notwithstanding very significant spending by the Government of which Deputy Martin was a member during the height of the boom, lone parents' risk of poverty was higher then than it is now. The Fianna Fáil-led Government refused to reform benefits for lone parents. John Downing was on radio in recent times recalling a discussion with one of the former Fianna Fáil Ministers for social protection. Notwithstanding the advice in those days of the OECD and others that lone parents were the people most at risk of poverty in Irish society, and the fact that this was a time when there was a lot of money to spend on social welfare, Fianna Fáil chose not to undertake any kind of reform.

Through a combination of approximately 19 hours per week of work and the family income supplement, FIS, the purpose of this reform, which is in its third year, is to lift the situation for lone parents and bring their income up above €400 per week, depending on the number of children they have and the hourly rate at which they are employed. For a lone parent, for instance, who would only be on one-parent family allowance for himself or herself and one child, that would work out at the moment at an average of about €220 per week. I think most people in the House would agree that is a very low income. However, if a lone parent raises his or her hours to 19 per week at the minimum wage and receives FIS as well, his or her income would rise to over €400 per week. Now, if this House and this society and country are serious-----

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