David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I want to give a cautious welcome to yesterday's statement on lone parents by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton. It was an important and significant statement. When the budget was first announced, those of us in opposition said that child care was an impediment to many unemployed lone parents seeking access to the labour market. I welcome the Minister's statement that she will not implement the measure which, unfortunately, remains in the Bill to reduce the cut-off age from 14 to seven. This concerns the age of the youngest child in terms of qualifying for the one-parent family allowance.

It is timely for this House to have a proper debate on child care provision. We all aspire to having world class, affordable, safe and high quality child care but unfortunately we do not have it in this country, although huge progress has been made in some areas. Taking what the Minister has said at face value, if it is her intention, and that of the Government, to improve child care in this State, it is important that we should discuss what that will mean. We should discuss not just the child care needs of lone parents but of all parents, whether employed or not.

As we all know, lone parents were specifically targeted in the budget when one considers the cuts to their earnings disregards, payments while on CE schemes and qualified child payments. There were also cuts to the back-to-school allowance, rent supplement and fuel allowance, which had a disproportionate impact on lone parents. While the cut-off age aspect of the budget on lone parents is important, and hopefully we will see a change in it, there were many other aspects in the budget that have disproportionately and wrongfully impacted on lone parents. I hope that they will also be reversed in the context of the Social Welfare Bill's progress through this House.