Today is the last day that lone parents whose youngest child is seven will receive the one-parent family payment. Next week 30,000 lone parents will transfer onto the new transitional jobseeker's allowance and more than 10,000 of these parents will have their weekly payments cut, some by as much as €87. It is a great pity that the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, is not here in the Dáil this morning. She had a lot to say about social welfare fraud yesterday. She should know that if anyone is guilty of giving two fingers to their neighbours, it is, in fact, the Tánaiste and, indeed, the Minister, Deputy White, as they introduce the eighth successive cut to lone parent families. The overwhelming majority of these parents are women. Many are in low-paid, insecure jobs. Many are living in or at risk of poverty. All are struggling to raise their children in the most difficult of circumstances.

In 2012, the Tánaiste promised that this cut was dependent on "there being a system of safe, affordable and accessible child care in place, similar to what is found in the Scandinavian countries". Deputy White may recall her making that commitment. The Tánaiste stated that without affordable and accessible child care, "the measure will not proceed", and she was quite definitive in that regard. The average cost of child care per week is €167. In Dublin, it is even higher than that. In many communities child care is simply not available. When Fianna Fáil first cut child benefit, the Labour Party rightly decried the cut as anti-woman and stated it highlighted the lack of influence that women held in Cabinet, and yet here the Labour Party is in government introducing a measure that is anti-woman and, indeed, anti-child. The Labour Party is doing exactly what it condemned Fianna Fáil for doing when the Labour Party was in opposition - little wonder that some of the Labour Party's backbenchers are up in arms. My question is quite simple. Will the Minister, Deputy White, and the Tánaiste keep the promise made in 2012 when introducing this cut and in the absence of accessible and affordable child care, will they, as Government, now reverse the decision to push thousands of one-parent families into poverty?

First, lone parents have been at a much greater risk of poverty primarily due, as Deputy McDonald will be aware and will have to appreciate, to them being absent from the workforce for most of their working life, and that is an issue that is being addressed here in these reforms. That scenario is not a good one for a parent and it is not a good one for a child. The reforms that are taking place here are aimed at addressing this social inclusion, poverty and long-term welfare dependency issue. That is what is being addressed in these reforms.

I accept that a number of issues have arisen during this reform process and those issues have been addressed and substantially resolved by the Tánaiste. For example, we have addressed the carer's allowance issues by ensuring that a lone parent caring for his or her child continues with the current arrangements. We have ensured that those back in education can continue to access their SUSI maintenance grant while retaining their underlying payment. We have introduced the back-to-work family dividend that will support lone parents back into work over two years. The real objective here is to get lone parents as far as possible back into the workplace. Lone parents automatically have their family income supplement, FIS, payment re-rated. We have asked the Labour Market Council to engage with employers to ensure that they are aware of the reforms and that they offer, where possible, extra hours that work for lone parents and recognise a situation that a certain cohort of those affected will have to address. We have kept the income disregard for working lone parents at €90 per week. We have introduced a number of child care options. We also introduced the jobseeker's transitional payment in recognition that more work needs to be done in this area.

There is an interdepartmental group, which the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Reilly, has formed, examining the child care issue that the Deputy raised. That is an issue. We have more work to do, as a Government and as a country, on the child care aspect. That is true not only for lone parents but for families generally. Something to which we, as a country, must face up is that we definitely need to improve that area as soon as possible.

The Tánaiste recognises the sacrifice and contribution that lone parents make to raising their children. The State provides one-parent family payment income support up until the youngest child reaches the age of seven and no other country in Europe has an arrangement like that in place.

We introduced the jobseeker's allowance transition payment, which supports lone parents with children over the age of seven and up to the age of 14. Such parents do not have to be available and genuinely seeking work, but they have to engage with their local Intreo office on activation measures. When we say that people can be directed to go to the Intreo office, commentators might say that is not enough and it is not a sufficient answer. However, it could be part of the answer for lone parents where they can get genuine support, where they can have employment counselling and where they can as far as possible be supported to get back into the workplace because that is what we want. The best route out of poverty, as I hope the Deputy will agree, is employment. That is what we seek to achieve here.

I am glad the Minister stated what we all know, that is, the extent to which single-parent families are at risk of poverty. He will be aware, not alone of that but that studies have reflected the fact that lone-parent families disproportionately suffered, under both the previous Government and, indeed, his own, in an era of austerity and cutbacks. We also know that many of those families live in poverty or at least are at risk of poverty. Deputy White acknowledges that. Let me acknowledge that a return to the workplace to good quality, secure employment is a desirable outcome for anybody. Let us just acknowledge that, move beyond that routine excuse that we hear from the Administration and deal with the facts.

I do not know whether the Minister has met many of the families, in particular, the women, who will be affected by what he calls reform but what are, in effect, cutbacks. They want to know from him how it is that they will make up the €87 a week that they will be down. Aspirational talk here about return to work will not compensate these families and these women for a cut of that magnitude - that is the bottom line here. Although the Minister has made all of the worthy points about what we should and might do in respect of child care, it does not address either the following core point, that the Tánaiste, Deputy White's leader and second-in-command of the Government, made a definitive commitment that this cut would not go ahead in the absence of quality and affordable child care. The Minister and I, and the mothers and fathers of this land, particularly those parenting alone, know that such a system of child care simply is not available.

Will the Labour Party, the Government and the Tánaiste keep their word and reverse this cut? Will the Minister shed some light for those families to whom the Government will cut €87 on where they are to find that money? They are already struggling and at risk of poverty.

We have expanded the child care system. We subsidised 25,000 child care places for low-income parents. However, I accept that child care services and facilities should improve as soon as possible. This is why the Minister, Deputy Reilly, has an interdepartmental group examining how best to do that. Our child care system is nothing like what we want it to be or what it should be. I accept that it should be improved and enhanced. I hope that this is what will emerge from the group.

What use is that to these families now?

What of the fair deal scheme review?

Order, please.

Clearly, a resource issue is involved. We must find resources in order to expand child care. As the economy continues to recover and as more people work or are available to work, which is a good thing, access to child care will put pressure on them. This is something that the current Government, for the remainder of its life, and the next Government, whichever parties comprise it, will need to address as a priority. The Minister's group will assist this Government and the next in ensuring that we put in place a more robust and expansive system of child care.

What of the Tánaiste's commitment? That is the question I asked.

The Minister to conclude.

On the Deputy's question regarding the legacy of poverty for lone parents, she is right about the position. While there have been significant levels of State spending on lone parents and improvements have been made to the one-parent family payment down the years, it is still the case that lone parents are considerably more at risk of consistent poverty than the population as a whole. It is against this backdrop-----

That the Government is going to cut their incomes again.

-----that these reforms are being introduced. What has been done to date has not been successful. The Deputy agrees that a job is the best route out of poverty. We must not only ensure that we do not maintain a dependency on welfare, as I assume that no one, including the Deputy, wants that, but we must help to motivate and facilitate people in accessing the workplace-----

These people are already in work.

They do not need more motivation.

That is an insult.

-----and getting more hours where they already work and ensure that the system supports them-----

Answer the question as regards the Tánaiste's commitment, please.

-----they are listened to when they attend at Intreo offices and so on-----

He is commentating.

-----and their individual situations are addressed. This is the humane way to do it-----

There is nothing humane about the cuts to these families.

-----and the best policy approach to a difficult situation that people are facing.