Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I accept it was changed on Committee Stage. The change in eligibility is a penalty on the vulnerable young men or woman rearing young families. The latest survey on income and living conditions published by the Central Statistics Office shows an increasing income inequality between those at the highest level of income and those at the lower level. When a family loses one parent, that is a severe blow, but to impose a financial penalty on them is something we on this side of the House cannot support.