Sir, - I can't make out from your report (January 2nd) whether the new lone parents' scheme will increase or decrease public expenditure under that heading. It appears that the new arrangements will enable up to 3,000 extra lone parents to qualify for a social welfare allowance while working.
On the face of it, that looks like extra expenditure, but your report does not give any estimate of offsetting savings from reduced allowances to those who are encouraged by the new arrangements to go out to work. So what is the net effect?
Wouldn't it be useful to have a cost benefit analysis published in conjunction with any new schemes of this kind, so that we might know what Ministers are aiming to achieve, and how we should measure the effects of their efforts? And wouldn't it be interesting to look back over the hiss tory of allowances for lone parents, and compare the actual outturn with the ministerial forecasts, when they were first introduced, and at significant milestones along the way? - Yours, etc.,
Lakelands Avenue,
Upper Kilmacud Road,
Stillorgan,
Blackrock, Co Dublin.