Independent parents don't use their vote. It is a broad statement, but one that a support centre for such parents in Galway city is prepared to stand over and to tackle.
A series of workshops beginning in the centre next month will highlight the importance of using the franchise and its potential impact. Many issues of major concern to single parents will not receive the priority they deserve if those most affected do not vote, according to the director of the Independent Parenting Centre, Ms Sharon Sharpe-Campbell.
The term "single" parent is one that Ms Sharpe-Campbell avoids using. "Independent" is far more empowering, she believes, at a time when society holds a particular attitude towards those raising a child or children on their own.
Attitudes may have changed radically in the last couple of decades, but there is still a stigma attached to lone parents, as a report by the National Economic and Social Forum acknowledged last year.
Part of this relates to the practical economic difficulties which result in many parents becoming caught in a poverty trap. Family support is not always there when most needed. As some of the women at the centre explained last week, "You are perceived to have done something wrong because you are on your own".
Last year's NESF report noted that the task of reviewing policy for lone parents was made all the more difficult by the dearth of statistical data.
It recommended a programme of research to inform the policy debate. That debate can't even begin, realistically, until independent parents use their voice and their franchise, according to the Galway centre.
The series of six workshops runs from April 4th to May 9th between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., and childcare will be provided during that time.
Among the contributors will be Mr Brendan Flynn of the Department of Political Science and Sociology at NUI, Galway, and local TDs in Galway West and city councillors, all of whom have been invited and some of whom have confirmed participation.
It is then hoped to establish a forum for parents in Galway, which will provide them with a collective voice that can influence policy.
Since the centre was initiated in a building owned by Silke's fruit and vegetable merchants a year ago, it has gradually found its feet. It has relied heavily on voluntary effort, and it was only recently that two supported full-time posts were confirmed. A lease has also been negotiated for four years.
Fund-raising, sponsorship and the assistance of Galway City Partnership has been vital, but Ms Sharpe-Campbell believes the centre must remain largely independent of State agencies if it is to be true to its original purpose.
Many of the parents who walk through the centre's door, or phone, are wary of the established agencies.
"They are terrified that if they admit they can't cope, their child or children will be taken from them. The isolation they experience is made worse by the fact that many have ongoing problems with landlords, who won't deal in rent receipts because of the tax implications," she says.
"The high cost of city-centre accommodation forces them out into areas where they may know nobody, and the lack of public transport and lack of affordable childcare make it virtually impossible to arrange to meet friends. That can contribute to depression, which is a serious issue and one that has an effect on the children, ultimately."
The centre's approach is two-pronged: it provides practical advice on legal and financial matters and tries to give emotional support. Further projects include provision of a community training room and a secondhand shop for equipment, toys, bedding and maternity wear; and it hopes to set up a forum for children who wish to express their viewpoints.
It is aware that the system of State benefits can be restrictive in terms of long-term options, and it believes that the issue of childcare and educational opportunities is one that concerns all parents. In fact, Ms Sharpe-Campbell stresses that the door is open to all parents, regardless of status, nationality, sex and creed and whether single, separated, deserted, divorced, widowed or married.
Information on the workshops and the centre is available from Olivia McCullough at (091) 583088, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays.