£100 weekly allowance for mothers cost of party's support

A £100 weekly allowance for mothers working fulltime in the home would be a condition of the National Party's support for the next government, according to its leader, Mrs Nora Bennis.

Mrs Bennis unveiled the NP's election manifesto in Dublin yesterday saying the party aimed to hold the balance of power in the new Dail. If this happens, she added, the phased introduction of the allowance for mothers and a referendum on abortion will be the party's bottom line in post election negotiations.

She admitted the mothers' allowance proposal was uncosted but said the obvious wealth in the economy made its phased introduction possible. Some of the cost could be met by the savings made from women leaving the live register to take up fulltime responsibilities at home, she added.

Mrs Bennis declined to say how many seats she thought the NP could win. But she welcomed press comments suggesting she has a chance of the fifth seat in Limerick East. She also pointed to past opinion polls which indicated up to 35 per cent of the electorate would vote for a conservative family oriented party.

In addition to Mrs Bennis in Limerick East, the party is fielding candidates in 15 other constituencies: CarlowKilkenny, Clare Cork East, Cork North Central Cork South West, Dublin North West, Dublin South West, Galway West, Kerry North, LaoisOffaly, Mayo, Tipperary North, Tipperary South, Waterford, and Westmeath.

Claiming a high level of disillusionment among voters, the party's manifesto sets out a range of economic and social policies designed to support the "traditional Judaeo Christian family" unit.

The proposals include the establishment of a Ministry for the Family, with a full Cabinet minister and civil service department ensuring all legislation, current and proposed, is "family proofed". With the help of the new department, the activities of voluntary profamily groups would be "integrated for more effective service" and legislation to discriminate in favour of marriage would be introduced.

An end to school based sex education and the introduction of programmes to give parents the skills to impart the knowledge themselves is among the manifesto's education policies. These also demand a "vindication" of the rights of all parents to have their children educated at the school of their choice, whether "denominational, nondenominational or secular humanist".

On the economy, the party wants to tackle what it says are antifamily social welfare programmes. One example cited is means testing of unemployment assistance, which prevents payment to grownup children staying at home but allows payment when they move out to live alone.

As well as the £100 for mothers, the manifesto calls for a payment for all full time carers of the elderly. The party also wants a change in the existing regulations for carers allowance, to include carers who live in adjacent properties on the same farm, for example. The manifesto pledges to restore child tax allowances at the standard rate, and calls for the "antifamily imbalance" between married and cohabiting couples to be addressed.