Ireland's maternity and childcare policies are forcing lone parents out of the labour market, according to the National Women's Council.
It comes as Ireland was voted the second worst country in Europe for maternity leave, with the State paying 245 euro to new mums for 26 weeks.
In Norway and Bulgaria - at the top of the table - women are paid over 80 percent of their salary for over a year.
Economic Equality Coordinator with the National Women's Council Sandra McCullagh says Ireland's policies leave lower income families in a difficult position:
"When we take the low rates of maternity benefit into account, and we add the unaffordable childcare, it means that we're forcing lone parents and low-income families out of the labour market, and we're forcing them into a model of... where their dependant on social welfare".
