Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State. It is a pleasure for me to speak after the eloquent and expert spokesperson on social welfare, Senator Marie Maloney. I will address a couple of the points raised during the debate.

The Minister for Social Welfare highlighted the importance of the spend on social protection. Some 40% of all current Government spending, €20 billion, goes on social protection payments. The other point the Minister has made is that the spend is not only an outflow from the Government but also acts as a driver of growth and a stimulus in the economy. She should be recognised as a reforming Minister who brings a progressive impetus to the Department of Social Protection. She does not lose sight of the need for social protection to protect the neediest in society but also for social protection spending to be seen as part of a stimulus.

I take issue with much of what Senator Averil Power said. She has misrepresented the reforms the Minister is seeking to introduce. Other speakers have pointed out that the vast majority of those in receipt of lone-parent allowance are women. As a feminist, like the Minister, we must ensure the outcomes for those in receipt of the allowance are not discriminatory but effective. The Minister has put it clearly that the outcomes of the spend on lone-parent allowance remain poor because lone parents and their families are at a disproportionate risk of poverty. We must address this issue.

I also take issue with Senator Averil Power's suggestion that lone parents are being denigrated or described as passive recipients. Far from it; we must all pay enormous tribute to them in facing the difficulties they encounter in raising children without a partner. Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames has mentioned that her husband sometimes feels like a lone parent with a partner involved in politics, but the reality is lone parents do a great job and need and deserve our support and praise.

The Minister is looking at how best to reform the payment of lone-parent allowance to achieve better outcomes for loan parents and ensure they are not discriminated against in terms of access to education or employment, the best route out of poverty. The reforms are in line with changes made elsewhere where we see a better system of supports for lone parents. In the Netherlands there is a work obligation on lone parents when the youngest child reaches five years of age, while in Scandinavian countries the age limit is even younger, at three or four years of age. The Minister has recognised that in Ireland it is not feasible to move to a younger age, unless adequate supports are made available. That commitment is critical.