FIANNA FAIL and the Government parties have rejected the Progressive Democrats proposal to redirect rent allowances to single mothers to encourage them to stay at home. Lone parents' organisations have also been critical.
The party has said its proposal was made for social, not economic, reasons and was not a means to save the State money.
Fianna Fail, the PDs' potential partners in government, would not support the withdrawal of any existing benefit to single parents, according to its leader, Mr Bertie Ahern.
The Progressive Democrats have insisted their proposal is not a cost-cutting measure. "It is not intended to save the State a single penny, said Mr John Murray, spokesman for the party leader, Ms Mary Harney. "It is a social issue, not an economic issue. We want to use the allowances currently available for rent for parenting courses."
Ms Harney said her policy was the essence of compassion. "What is more compassionate; a system that forces young, single mothers to isolate themselves in council houses, away from human contact and support, in order to receive benefits, or one which provides them with the option to live with the father of the child, or with their own family, or, in other words, with a support group?"
The Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, called on the PDs to clarify what they were proposing. "Yesterday, Ms Harney proposed that single mothers' rent allowances be stopped. At the same time, on the issue of household formation, her party's manifesto seemed to argue for the complete individualisation of payments.
"This morning on radio, she seemed to argue for part payment of the one-parent family payments to the parents of adult, single mothers who remained in the family home. Or perhaps she is saying that lone parents should stay in the family home, pay rent to their own parents, and then claim rent allowances from the Department of Social Welfare?"
The Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Dukes, said the PDs plan might expose young children to the danger of sexual abuse.
A Labour TD, Ms Roisin Shortall, said this was a very complex area and should not be the subject of cheap political attempts to make it an election issue. "The aim of social policy should be to encourage the formation of two-parent families. It is a much wider issue than social welfare."
Organisations representing lone parents were also critical. Ms Freda Keeshan, of the Parents Alone resource centre at Coolock, north Dublin, said: "While living at home can be supportive for young mothers, there are many issues which can be difficult - lack of space, boundary problems around the parenting role, etc. Young parents should be encouraged to lead autonomous, economically-independent lives rather than be dependent. This does not rule out the need for a broad range of supports."
She warned against the scape-goating of lone parents for the anomalies in the social welfare system.
Ms Janice Ransom, of One Parent Exchange and Network, Kilbarrack, north Dublin, said her group was "shocked and disturbed" by the PDs proposal. "The issue of single parenthood is a large and complicated one, not easily answered by quick-fix solutions.
However, the Fianna Fail candidate in Dublin South West, Mr Conor Lenihan, gave a qualified welcome to the PDs suggestions.
"I back Mary Harney's idea but I don't think that it's the best approach for all young, single mothers," he said.