David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not care whether people are constituents or not; it does not bother me. I am interested in the issues. I thought it might be useful, rather than going on with a lot of old rhetoric, to put on the record one or two of the communications I have had, because they put a human face on the situation. The first one is from a woman who states:

Wednesday is a big day for me as you are voting on my daughter & my future. Being a lone parent has completed life for me, my daughter has been the missing piece of my life up to nearly 5 years ago. When I called into my local social welfare office after I had my daughter asking what supports are there for being a lone parent and self employed, I was told 'we never have had a lone parent in our area that is self employed'. So there was no box for me.

The way the self-employed are cut off from support is another issue. We are talking about somebody who creates a business and employes many people, but when the business goes wallop, all the employees are looked after and the person who took the initiative does not. That is an issue Government should examine. She further stated:

These cuts to lone parents are going to affect me in two years time when I will be down €55 a week.

Where is the child care promised by Minister Burton?

That is a very important question because when the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Burton, introduced this idea originally, she said she would not implement it until there was a Scandinavian-type child care system. Everybody knows there is no such thing at the moment.