Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

There are significant human resources throughout the system and the country in the offices that deal with these people daily. Senator McFadden is correct. I welcome her support. Cross-party support is evident for this scheme which we are trying to finalise.

As Senator McFadden is aware, there are different views among stakeholders as to how we achieve our aim. We are trying to use the experience of the pilot projects in Kilkenny and Coolock to see how best to proceed. It is not just a question of straight financial support because other issues arise. I refer to education in particular. Many lone parents left school early and do not have the educational requirements necessary to get back into the workforce. Child care is another issue that arises. Some lone parents are more interested in training than education. There is a mixture of needs.

The aim is to get as many lone parents as possible into the system in the next year or two to try to get them back into the workforce. Many of them are coming in voluntarily. There was a general impression that the receipt of a letter in the post meant people would lose something. The experience of people in Kilkenny and Coolock has been very positive. We are not trying to take anything away from people. We want to enhance the quality of people's lives by allowing them and helping them to do part-time work and, ultimately, full-time work. Accordingly, we are trying to target the supports that are needed to achieve that.