THE Department of Social Welfare will be renamed and a Minister of State for family Affairs appointed under Fianna Fail, the party's spokesman on social welfare said.
Dr Michael Woods said the new name, the Department of Social, Community and family Affairs, would reflect its wider role in the new millennium.
He said social insurance credits would be provided to women caring for children older people or those with a disability, and to women who worked on a voluntary basis in their community.
A "home-to-business register" would be established to allow any one working full-time at home for a specific period to qualify for State training programmes and to be recognised as contributors to economic well-being. Up to 10 per cent of community employment and training options would be allocated to women in the home, including widows on the social insurance pension and women on deserted wife's benefit.