Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I too commend the members of the committee, including the Chairman, Deputy Curran, and my colleague Deputy Brady, on their efforts in producing this report. I echo Deputy Funchion's remarks regarding the attendance for this debate. I know that, as we speak, there people who are busy in their offices and watching this debate and so the numbers here are not reflective of the interest in this issue. Nevertheless, it is disappointing that there are not more people here. I sought time to speak on this issue because it is one about which I am passionate.

Lone parents, the majority of whom are women, have been consistently under attack in this State. From organised religion, to politicians, to the media, they have been on the receiving end of persecution and discrimination. They have been sneered at and ridiculed, and their treatment in some cases has been nothing short of disgusting. Lone parenting is possibly one of the most difficult jobs with which a person can be tasked, yet the State does little genuinely to help lone parents. I know this because my daughter is a lone parent. I know how hard she works and I know how difficult being a lone parent is for her. She is doing her best but there are many barriers in her way.

The 2016 census revealed that there are a growing number of lone-parent families in this State. According to that census, there are 218,817 lone-parent households in Ireland. The report cites the 2015 survey on income and living conditions which shows children in lone-parent families are among the poorest cohort of people in the State. It also shows how consistent poverty among lone-parent families is four times that of households headed by two parents. I found that shocking. The response of successive Fine Gael Governments was to punish, attack and directly target lone parents.

Earlier, I heard Deputy Burton speak about Joseph Stiglitz. She was not too concerned about the social and economic viewpoints of Mr. Stiglitz when, as Minister for Social Protection, she was busy attacking lone parents in the social welfare Bill in the last Dáil term. With the full backing of Fine Gael, Deputy Burton waged war on these parents. As stated by the political writer, Richard McAleavey, relying on ever present prejudices and inequalities, the lone-parent cuts were purely an accounting exercise. The outcome would cost more money, provide no solutions and fulfil none of the stated aims, but Deputy Burton did it anyway, causing untold stress and misery just to meet the bottom line. This is the outworking of policies.

The report lays bare what needs to be done and it leaves us questioning why on earth it has not been done before. We all know that child care costs are a barrier to lone parents finding work yet child care costs in Ireland are among the highest in the OECD. We need to see sustained and significant investment in affordable State-run child care facilities and State investment in jobs which provide a living wage, enabling lone parents who would like to work to have that opportunity. High rents are also crucifying lone parents. Homelessness figures show that a majority of homeless families are lone-parent families. What has been the response of the Government? It has presided over an unregulated rental market that commodifies housing, pushing lone parents and others into homelessness and forcing average income workers to spend 40-50% of their wages on rent.

In education, too, lone parents are punished. According to research, education levels are lower among lone parents. This then leads to poorer outcomes for their children. Back to education is made difficult as the back-to-education payment is not payable with the SUSI grant and this further hinders the ability of lone parents to upskill. Furthermore, a very low level of child maintenance is paid to lone parents in Ireland, and lone parents are obliged to seek child maintenance from ex-partners to retain their one-parent family payment. When paid, child maintenance is taken as household means by the Department towards rent supplement and other social welfare payments. This should not happen. Maintenance payments are not household means. A significant body of research has shown that the payment of child maintenance plays a role in lifting children out of poverty, yet this Government either stands idly by or actively participates in punishing them through presiding over this draconian policy.

The main challenges for lone parents - poverty, housing costs on one income, availability and cost of child care, obtaining child maintenance, education and the changes made to the one-parent family payment - need to be addressed urgently. We are not just an economy, we are a society. Addressing the inequality experienced by lone parents will have social as well as economic benefits.

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