asked the Minister for Social Welfare when it is intended to implement the undertaking that female school leavers who are unemployed will be entitled to unemployment assistance.

The Government are committed to working towards the elimination of discrimination against single, married and widowed women in the social welfare code. As a step in this direction the Minister for Finance announced in his budget statement yesterday that from 1 October 1978 single women, including school leavers and widows, will be entitled to claim unemployment assistance on the same basis as men.

This is 16 months after it was promised. The promise was made in June 1977 and the change will be implemented in October 1978. In the meantime another lot of children have left school.