Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Like my colleagues, I congratulate Deputy Kerrane on introducing this Bill and on her Trojan work in representing lone parents as Sinn Féin's spokesperson on social protection. Her Bill would be a step towards ending the victimisation of lone parents and stop them being forced to go to court, which is hard on people physically, mentally and financially. They have to take time off work, organise childcare and travel. All of this adds up, especially in contentious situations where there can be multiple court cases. Do lone parents who are trying to raise their kids need to be put under this pressure? I think not, and neither does Deputy Kerrane. This Bill would only be a small step in the greater scheme of things where social protection is concerned. For lone parents, though, it would be an important one.

This is not just about the money. It is also about having to go through a court system because of Government bureaucracy. We are forcing people into confrontations that they do not want and they realistically should not have to pursue. If the system works for the first seven years, it is nonsensical to change it for the next seven.

While we wait for a proper child maintenance collection agency, we need to take the burden off the lone parent. The way that Governments have treated unmarried mothers and other lone parents has been a great shame. We should have learned from it. Instead, thanks to failed Government policies and failures by Governments to care, one in every five lone parent families is in constant poverty.

A single mother contacted me last week about the cost of living. She works every hour God sends her and all the overtime she can get. She is not entitled to any State support whatsoever. She worked 17 days straight. When she looked at her bank account at the end of that, she had just €2 left after paying all of her bills. She gets no support from the State. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have failed people like her. When the current Tánaiste announced that he would be a leader for the people who got up early every morning, he was not talking about this lady. He might have been talking about the well-to-do, the cuckoo funds and big investors. He was not talking about how he would be a leader for ordinary people like bus drivers, secretaries, nurses, teachers and shop assistants who get up early in the morning. If he was, then he, the Government and the Minister of State would not be postponing this Bill.

Sinn Féin has a vision for an Ireland of equals. Deputy Kerrane's Bill shows that we are willing to achieve this. We are proposing a solution. All Deputies are elected to this Chamber to make a difference in people's lives. Sometimes, we can make big differences. Sometimes, we feel that the Government makes no difference. This Bill would make a small difference for lone parents and their children. That is what it is about. We are here to deliver. We are legislators and this is legislation, but instead of taking the opportunity to help the most vulnerable, the Government is kicking the Bill down the road. That is shameful.

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