Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I have no difficulty with the principle of helping lone parents. It is worth noting, however, that there are almost 80,000 people in receipt of one-parent family payments. The State's budget in this area is some €700 million, which is a substantial resource. Not all the recipients are lone parents in the traditional sense in that some may be widows and so on. It is also an area we need to keep under review to see how we can make it more human. I find some of the rules and regulations surrounding it somewhat ancient and these could be improved.