Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 6, subsection (2), line 43, to delete "3 May 2012" and substitute the following:

"after the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education has passed a motion affirming that it is satisfied a sufficient number of additional, affordable after-school care places are in place to at least meet the demand to which this section gives rise".

Ba mhaith liom an leasú seo a mholadh. Arís, táimid ag plé, beag nó mór, leis an ábhar a luaigh muid níos túisce. Tá sé fíor-thábhachtach go seasfadh muid anseo ar son na grúpaí tuistí aonair agus na grúpaí a labhraíonn ar a son, ar nós an feachtas 7 is Too Young, OPEN, Barnardos, Comhairle Náisiúnta na mBan agus SPARK, mar tá an-imní go deo orthu maidir leis na moltaí atá déanta ag an Aire. Cé go bhfuil muid ag plé an ábhair seo le fada inniu, ní dóigh liom go bhfuil aon athrú tagtha ar an mheon. Ní dóigh liom go bhfuil freagra tugtha ar na cheisteanna a cuireadh maidir le soláthar chúram leanaí a d'fhéadfadh a bheith ar fáil. Tá muid an-dáiríre go gcuirfear in iúl agus go gcuirfear siar an dáta an 3 Bealtaine 2012 agus go gcuirfear isteach an leasú atá molta againne - go gcaithfeadh an tAire atá ann teacht os comhair an Comhchoiste Oireachtais um Poist, Coimirce Shóisialach agus Oideachas agus go gcaithfeadh an coiste rún a aontú go bhfuil dóthain áiteanna iarscoile cúram leanaí ar fáil ar phraghas réasúnach le gur féidir déileáil leis an éileamh atá ann.

Tá seo réasúnach mar níl ann, mar a dúradh roimhe seo, ach dul de réir an fhocail a dúirt an tAire í féin sa Dáil. Táimid ag fáil beagáinín mífhoighdeach ar an taobh seo den Teach leis na freagraí atá muid ag fáil, mar níl aon soiléiriú faighte ar an rud seo. Más é an rún atá ag an Aire, mar adúirt sí, ná dul i ngleic le cúrsaí dífhostaíochta agus daoine a gníomhú ar ais i dtreo na fostaíochta, caithfidh sí beart a dhéanamh de réir a briathar ar an bpictiúr níos leithne. Caithfidh an Roinn dul i ngleic leis na figiúirí ar an gclár beo, de 434,300 nó 14.3% daoine atá dífhostaithe sa tír seo agus an 185,000 duine atá dífhostaithe go fadtéarmach. Sin bun agus barr an scéil. Dúirt mé níos túisce go bhfuil muid ag caint ar na tuistí aonair seo a chur amach ag obair nuair atá na páistí seacht mbliana d'aois, ach níl an fhostaíocht sin ar fáil dóibh fé láthair. Cé go bhfuil clár fostaíochta curtha i dtoll le chéile ag an Rialtas seo, a bhfuil sprioc uaillmhianach aige do 200,000 duine a chur ag obair as seo go ceann cúpla bliain, ní léir go bhfuiltear ag déanamh an t-uafás dul chun cinn ar sin. Tá roinnt deascéalta faighte againn le tamall anuas, ach níl muid a dul i ngar don 200,000. Ag an am céanna agus atá muid ag cruthú fostaíochta, táimid ag cailleadh fostaíochta ar réimsí eile.

Iompóidh mé ar an mBéarla le leatrom eile a mhíniú.

We did not cover one point during the previous discussion. All the points we made previously about section 1 are still valid.

We have not yet bought into the Minister's arguments. Even if we take on board the arguments the Minister made and if the legislation is introduced, it will create an unfair situation for newcomers. All other things being equal, where two lone parents with eight-year-old children are living next door to each other, the parent under the old regime will retain entitlements while the other parent, who becomes a lone parent through bereavement or a separation from a partner, will have very different circumstances. The Government is following the austerity plan introduced by the previous Government under the troika. People are finding it much harder to cope because of the extra costs such as household charges and water charges. People's disposable incomes are much lower and reports from credit unions suggest people have less than €100 for expenses. My fear is that we will be in austerity for the next number of years while this programme is rolled out. This will mean cutbacks in the Government's budget and people will have to tighten their belts further. New entrant lone parents will be in an even tighter situation but they will not receive the same support as their next-door neighbours. There is an in-built inequality for newcomers, which is unfair.

According to the Minister's clarification this morning, these measures will not save the State much money. It is unfair that we have people in this situation and it is time to return to the drawing board. It is time to scrap this measure. Time should be taken to find savings in a different way. The Minister said this is her grand idea. Other Ministers in previous decades had grand ideas about reforming education and social welfare but no one else buys into this as a big idea that will be a radical reform and a new approach to activating employment for lone parents. Sinn Féin is tabling this amendment because the measure is wrong and I hope the Minister takes on board our amendment.