Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I would not say it if I did not believe it.

I welcome some of the initiatives taken. I would have liked to have had a debate on a number of issues which I would have liked to tease out, including the reduction in jobseeker's benefit. I am very concerned about people who are contractually obliged to finish work at 65 years of age who will be left with jobseeker's benefit for only nine months. They have worked all their lives only to find they will have no income for three months. This is the sort of measure that needs to be teased out. I do not envy the Minister her job and I would not like to have it. However, she is a reformer and I welcome her agreement to come to the House early next year for a long discussion on these matters. Yesterday we received constructive criticism and ideas from Members across the House which could be taken into consideration. I look forward to the debate in February on the Mangan report on taxation and the family, to which Members will have a great deal to contribute. I ask the Minister to work on the child care measure and ensure its inclusion. She should not forget rural Ireland in establishing it, as people can find it difficult to get from their job in an urban area to their child's school in a rural area. There should, therefore, be a focus on rural schools.