Minister Ahern said, "The Review finds that overall OFP is fulfilling a valuable role in supporting lone parents. However, I am concerned at the continued high poverty rates for lone parents and their children and at the fact that long-term welfare dependency has become a reality for many of those on OFP.
"In the PPF we are committed to looking at poverty reduction targets for children and women. Lone parenthood is a key issue for both and is one of the main contributors to the rates of consistent poverty, which currently affect both women and children.
"I am encouraged by the significant growth in the number of lone parents at work and I believe that this is the best route out of poverty." On foot of the proposals in the review and following discussions with the relevant agencies, I will bring forward a range of measures to overcome the barriers to employment which currently exist.

I will shortly be announcing details of an information campaign to ensure that all lone parents are fully aware of the various supports, which are available to help them to participate in education, training and employment. However, this campaign will be only the first strand in a planned and comprehensive programme of measures, which will form my Department 's strategy to motivate, encourage and support lone parents to join the active labour force. Details of this programme will be announced over the coming months.
''I believe that the proposal to bring the administration of the OFP scheme to a local level will be an important development and will help to make it more accessible to lone parents.''
''Support from the 'absent' partner or parent should play a much more important role in providing support to lone parents'' said the Minister. ''This Review sets out a very comprehensive analysis of the options in this area which I will consider in detail including the proposal that the system is enforced more vigorously while bearing in mind value for money considerations.
He added ''In the longer term, I believe that there is considerable validity in the point made by the Review that nature of OFP as a contingency based payment means that it cannot respond to issues such as cohabitation, joint custody / parenting of children and formation of new relationships. Disincentives to form relationships can only be resolved where the status of individuals is not relevant to the support received and I believe that we must, in the future, examine options in relation to universal child support and individualisation of payments.''

Despite containing much valuable information, this review studiously avoids grappling with the many of the complex and difficult questions posed by the issue of lone parenthood, much less suggesting innovative answers. As a result, it does little or nothing to stimulate debate of any kind.

Lone parents have been subjected to much unfair commentary which hints that they are responsible for many of the ills of society. As for those who believe that lone parents are spongers off an overtly- generous system, it is hard not to wish them the joy of some day subsisting on the equivalent of the one parent family payment so they may discover how "generous" it actually is.

As many as 47% of lone parents have no educational qualification. Young girls living in areas of depravation often have no role models other than sisters and friends who are already lone parents. Massive state investment in smaller classes and career guidance is vital. If we want to reduce teen pregnancies the best sex education is education itself. Where young people's personal hopes for their lives are raised by educational opportunity, they are far less likely to engage in sexual activity that will jeopardise this. Imagine if the resources which have to be poured into retaining young girls in-or enticing them back to- education had instead been poured into their education in order to help prevent them getting pregnant in the first place. Likewise, the emphasis should be put on young men with wider horizons.

There is no focus on the needs of children in this review. There is a trend towards encouraging Parents into the workforce, regardless of the fact that where a parent is genuinely alone, this deprives the child or children of the presence of even that parent. Of course having a parent at work decreases economic poverty, but what about emotional poverty?

Instead of a tunnel-vision focus of getting parents out at work, we should consider imitating the French, who give a payment of over £300 a month to parents who leave paid work in order to look after a child.

If such a substantial payment were introduced for all parents who have the primary care of children, the disincentive to marry inherent in the OFP would disappear, as this new parental payment would not be contingent on being a lone parent. It could be initially introduced as a taxable payment until the child is five and the payments tapered thereafter.

The review of the one parent family payment is far too timid to suggest such a route, as it does not fit with the Thatcherite policies of the current Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy. Sadly, in many ways this review is a wasted opportunity.
This article has been edited and originally was published in the "Irish Times". Readers can obtain a copy of the complete article and the Ministers statement from the PASS office.