Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

For some of the lone parents who might be affected in the next two years and who will be, I am sure the Senators will appreciate, small in number, because most of those who become lone parents do so by virtue of having a baby and, therefore, one would be talking about seven years, the conditions of the scheme for claiming jobseeker's payment include that a person must be available for full-time work or availing of an approved training or educational opportunity. I stress that the jobseeker's guidelines provide for a person's family circumstances to be taken into account specifically. For example, it may be unreasonable for a person with certain family responsibilities to seek work that involves a considerable amount of time travelling to and from work. Accordingly, it is considered that the jobseeker's scheme guidelines are flexible enough to meet the requirements of parents. However, I will keep this under review.

As Senators will probably be aware, we have facilitators as a service in social welfare offices specifically assisting persons, both men and women, on specific requirements they may have to help to get them activated into a course or whatever. Under the Pathways to Work programme, that kind of provision will expand a great deal because as well taking in the FÁS staff, we have also taken in the local employment services. Like the facilitators attached to local social welfare offices, the local employment service staff specialise in one-to-one assistance to help persons specifically overcome a difficulty, special qualification or other requirement to access employment. I stress that this change I am proposing is taking place on a graduated basis in the context of the Pathways to Work programme being rolled out as well. I appreciate it is a considerable change. Its purpose is to create more opportunity and options for more people.

To refer again to the IMF programme and the deal Fianna Fáil struck with the fund, the core criticism of the IMF of the social welfare system was its passivity, that persons could go into the social welfare system and be left there for a long period of time. Therefore, there has been a requirement from the troika. The troika, especially the IMF, has discussed this in positive terms. Looked at another way, were one an economist one would say this is a large resource of people in a country with whom we should be providing work opportunities.

I promise not to stray into the referendum, but let me say this. In the treaty there is a description of structural deficits. One thinks of structural deficits in terms of money, but structural deficits are probably better thought of in terms of the capacity of an economy to grow economic activity. For instance, one changes one's structural deficit by strengthening one's structure. One removes barriers to persons doing business or getting back to work and one invests in innovation and education. That is how one shrinks one's structural deficit. In fairness, the troika is keen not only on lone parents but also on everybody of working age ultimately becoming, to use the term I dislike, "activated". I suppose it is friendly advice and counselling we are getting from the friends Fianna Fáil brought into the country.