Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Is mór agam deis a fháil labhairt ar an mBille iontach tábhachtach seo. Sílim go raibh éagóir á dhéanamh ar daoine le míchumais sna moltaí a bhí déanta i dtús. Is maith an rud é go bhfuil an smaoineamh sin curtha ar leac oighir faoi láthair. Tá súil agam go dtarraingeofar siar go hiomlán an moladh maidir le daoine le míchumais. Sílim go bhfuil éagóir mór eile sa Bhille — an leatrom atá á dhéanamh ar tuismitheoirí aonair. There has been one instance of a rowing back or a pause in respect of the cut to the disability allowance. I hope that pause, which is welcome, will become permanent in nature.

The provisions in section 7 are going to have a dramatic effect on one-parent families. A huge number of issues arise in respect of this section and section 11, and people are extremely concerned with regard to the overall effect of the budget and of the Bill on one-parent families. Frances Byrne of OPEN has stated that "The changes to the One-Parent Family Payment combined with the cumulative effect of other cuts, plus changes to Community Employment schemes are nothing short of a disaster for one parent families."

One cannot deal with the cut to the lone-parent allowance in isolation. If it were a stand-alone cut, then it is possible that it could be justified. However, the cuts being made to child benefit, the fuel allowance and the back to school allowance, the increase in respect of the cost of school transport and the imposition of water, household and septic tank charges will all have an effect on one-parent families. Let us place this matter in context. Some 65% of the country's children are in one-parent families. Those in such families are four times more likely to live in consistent poverty than their counterparts in other families. Those parenting alone were the most negatively affected by the previous budget, losing almost 5% of their annual incomes. Lone parents and their children were poor during the Celtic tiger era and they remain so now. Those in one-parent families experience low levels of education. What is proposed in the Bill is going to impact on one-parent families in a number of ways. Any measure that will diminish the support being given to such families is extremely retrograde in nature. I am surprised, therefore, that such a measure has been brought forward by the Minister who fought for the rights of those to whom I refer in the past. I call on her to reconsider what is proposed.

Senator Mooney is correct when he states that we need to encourage as many as possible of those who parent alone to return to full employment. On a previous occasion the Minister and I discussed the JobBridge programme, in which those to whom I refer are prevented from taking part as a result of the fact that they will lose some of their secondary benefits. That is unfair and it does not send out the right message. With the cuts proposed there is no incentive for someone in a one parent family to seek gainful employment or to take up a community employment or JobBridge scheme to try to get back into employment. This section and section 11 in particular are penalising one of our less vocal groups in our society because they are so busy raising their children. They do not bang the drum as much as other groups, and they may not be as big a lobby as other groups. These are unfair measures. I look forward to the Minister explaining her rationale behind these cuts because they will affect one of our most vulnerable groups. Other options were available to this Government. Sinn Féin outlined those clearly. We believe this is the wrong option to have taken. It was not fair to pick on this particular group of people and we call on the Minister to try to redress the matter.