Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I thank the Minister for his reply and his comments on cohabiting couples, to which I did not refer. It is a difficult area. In the context of what Senator Cox said, we should support families and promote child-rearing in a family unit, whatever that might look like. We should not create a disincentive to the development of stable relationships for lone parents for their own benefit and also for the benefit of their children both emotionally and economically. It is cheaper to live together than to live apart.

The lone parent payment is directed at lone parents. Clearly if somebody is cohabiting he or she is no longer a lone parent. We need to look at this in a wider context. I posed the question earlier as to why so many young women chose to be lone parents. The Minister referred to 80,000 lone parents. I do not know what percentage this represents but I described the women I am talking about. As a society we need to consider why women choose to have children on their own, raise them on their own and remain in a dependency situation. That is a wider debate, which we are all considering. In the context of the Minister's response and the debate we are having, I withdraw the amendment.