Mary Henry (Independent)

I am always delighted when Senator White refers to the fact that she had to leave her job when she married as I did too. I am quite relieved Senator John Paul Phelan is not here as the last time I made the point, he stood up to say his mother had to do so also. It demonstrated that there has been a change in the age profile in the Seanad.

We are discriminating against people who cannot afford to leave their jobs. We will have to provide them with some form of allowance while they are out of work if they are in one-parent families. Of single parents in Ireland, 40% are widowed and 25% are separated or divorced. In both scenarios the children involved have already had a serious problem with which to deal. I suggest that any parent who is doing his or her utmost to maintain the standard of living the family previously enjoyed will be very inhibited from taking any of the leave for which we are providing today.