Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this issue. I am slightly confused, in that I would like the real Government spokesperson to stand up, like on the television programme. I admire Senator Cox's determination on the child care issue. As someone who has followed her comments on the matter since 1999, when she first spoke about it in the House, I am aware that she has been consistent at all times. I wish her luck in her further endeavours in this regard.

We all agree there are major concerns in respect of child care. Many young parents who want to work, and need to work, cannot do so because the cost of child care is prohibitive and not enough suitable child care places are available. Many young people are working under extreme financial duress because they are trying to maintain a normal work-life balance. I agree with Senator Ross that this problem crept up on us during the years of the economic boom. I do not doubt that this country's social and economic landscape has changed dramatically over the last 20 or 30 years. Young parents have higher expectations nowadays. Unlike our parents, who lived for their children, young people of the current generation want to have lives to their own. They are right to want to enjoy their lives while also enjoying their children. As public representatives, we should attempt to give them some semblance of balance.

A great deal of progress has been made in recent years. I understand that this country's population is higher than it has been since 1871. That approximately 10% of the population is under the age of six is causing many problems. I do not believe that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has been sitting on its hands. Much has been done since Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats returned to power in 1997. As the Minister, Deputy Michael McDowell, said, some €500 million has been spent on the equal opportunities child care programme, which has been under the aegis of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform since 2000, when the expert committee published its findings. I understand that the key objective of the programme was to increase the supply of centre-based child care places by 55%. The Minister said in his speech that 26,000 of the target of 31,000 such places had been achieved by the end of June 2005. The Department believes it will ultimately provide 40,000 centre-based child care places and support a further 23,000 such places. While that is not fantastic when one considers the total number of child care places which are required, it is certainly a step in the right direction. We now need to stir the pot in a big way. If I read correctly the signals sent out by the Minister for Finance at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis last weekend, a decent level of finance will be allocated under this heading in the forthcoming budget. I hope I am assuming correctly.

When I read a document about the equal opportunities child care programme, I was interested to learn that the number of women in the workforce increased from 588,000 to 771,000 between 1997 and the end of 2004. The Minister told us tonight that the relevant figure has since increased to 819,000. It is significant to consider the proportions of women in part-time and full-time employment. The number of women in full-time employment has increased by 31% and the number of women in part-time employment has increased by 33%. It is interesting that 13,000 women considered themselves to be under-employed in 1997, whereas just 1,900 women deemed themselves as such in 2000. I imagine that such dissatisfaction has declined as employers have become much more sympathetic and flexible in their dealings with female workers. They have had to modify their attitudes because full employment has meant that fewer good people are available for work. If an employer employs a good person who happens to be a young mother, he or she will retain her services at all costs rather than trying to recruit someone else with less experience. While this may be happening by chance, there is now greater flexibility among employers.

In my place of employment, which has a workforce almost 80% if not 85% female, staff are increasingly seeking to job-share. This happens primarily on the birth of a second rather than a first child. Many parents are prepared to give the first child to the grandmother but a second child is too much for a grandmother to take on. In any event, job-sharing is a far better financial proposition for parents. If a person in full-time employment who is paying full-time costs for child care decides to work part-time, he or she saves on tax credits or can pass them to a partner. Therefore, to only pay for part-time child care, if one could access it, would save money. However, I am told that crèches which take children for half days operate from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., if they can be found, whereas employment is often from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which presents a problem.

The situation of lone parents is a serious issue. The 2002 census suggested there were as many as 150,000 lone parents in this country, 85% of whom were lone mothers. The statistics also show that a high proportion of lone parents live in poverty and are probably only surpassed in this regard by families headed by persons with a disability. Despite what we might have read in a recent newspaper article by an eminent journalist, very few people become lone parents by choice. Death, separation, divorce or having a spouse in jail can lead to lone parenthood. Employment is much more difficult to access for lone parents than for many others. Generally speaking — I do not mean this in a broad, sweeping way — many lone parents tend to be at a lower educational level. Apart from the fact that this makes it difficult to get work, lone parents must collect children from school at varying hours but many employers would not accommodate this. In addition, lone parents are not in a position to re-educate themselves. They form a group within this debate which must not be forgotten.

It is heartening to note the changes being brought about by the equal opportunities child care programme. It is a small move, but in the right direction. I hope that following the next two budgets we will be singing a different tune on this issue.