Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I thank all of the Senators who have contributed to the debate. I stress again that this is a work in progress. It is obvious that no one is satisfied with the outcomes in spending €1 billion on lone parents. There is general agreement that we could secure a better outcome from what is a very important investment by citizens and taxpayers.

When Finland had an horrific banking crash a couple of decades ago, one thing they emphasised in seeking recovery was the need to place a fresh emphasis on issues such as early childhood education, child care, education in general and innovation. While its recovery in employment was relatively slow, this change was one of the reasons it made a very solid recovery in the longer term. We are spending over €20 billion on social welfare payments this year in a particularly difficult period for the country while it is participating in the troika's programme. We have to think about how we can leverage some of that investment in a way that it becomes productive in terms of job creation and people setting up their own businesses.

I said to Senators a few days ago that I had given an indication that when in government, we would restore the minimum wage, which we did. I also spoke to Senators about the interest among quite a number of lone parents participating in the JobBridge internship programme. I am happy to say that after detailed discussions with the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform we will be extending that programme very shortly, which is positive. Many lone parents have been interested in accessing some of the opportunities available under the programme because they are probably in fields that traditionally have not been included in community employment scheme-type opportunities which often have been the only opportunities open to those who are parenting on their own.

We are talking about parents, children and achieving the best outcomes in flexible structures to encourage people. We are moving towards this end in the broader social welfare system in respect of Pathways to Work. In this scheme we are saying that after people have completed their training and obtained their degree, up until the time they retire, we want as many as possible at work because in that way they are contributors to the social welfare system, rather than dependants. That, in turn, provides us with the basis for supporting pensions for old people, payments to families with children and those who have unfortunately lost their jobs. Unless we can recalibrate and rebalance the social welfare system in order that we have more people at work - I have discussed with Senators a variety of ways by which we can do this - we will remain stuck.

Looking at countries such as Canada, Australia, the countries of Scandinavia, Germany and Northern Ireland, how come they all have ages limits ranging from one year to seven years? The age limit in Northern Ireland is seven years. It is simply because in the literature of these countries there is a positive move in telling people that as their child is now settled in school, they would like them to go back and complete their education and training and develop opportunities for themselves. That is an important social signal to send and that is what we want to do. It is critical and appropriate at this time that we should carry out these reforms. Perhaps they should have been undertaken when the country had a lot money and it was easier to complete them. The fact is, however, that we did not do this, but I feel very strongly that it is important we do so now.

The one weakness in the social welfare system is that for whatever reason, we have emphasised cash payments as opposed to the delivery of services or even conditional cash payments. A conditional cash payment might be dependent on a person's child going to school and so on. We have not developed such an approach in Ireland, probably for historical reasons, but I do not see why we should not do so now, especially when money is a little tighter and we have to make that €20 billion stretch as far as possible and use it as productively as possible for everybody in the economy.

In response to Senator Marie Moloney's comments, there are 92,000 parenting on their own and receiving social welfare payments, but there are tens of thousands of others who parent on their own and do not receive any social welfare payment because they are working or have a business. We must look at these very successful role models, as well as at a situation where we have some who will remain dependent on social welfare for a long period of time. There are tonnes of reports which state the outcomes for the children of such parents in avoiding poverty are far lower than they are for the children of such parents who are working.