Mr. Alan Gray:

It is an important factor in child care development. To have the type of child care development they have in Scandinavia would require additional State investment of €1 billion per annum. The cost of these measures is much more targeted. It is at those most in need and who are facing a trap in gaining employment. The annual cost of such care is estimated to be about €18 million.

If one wanted the measures recommended in this report, our estimates suggest that almost 19,000 people, who would otherwise not have jobs, low-income people, would be able to secure employment. That accounts for 30,000 children. It is not an incidental group.

Where families are struggling in low-income jobs, they are not able to afford quality child care. It is a case of whether they obtain unregulated, poor quality child care or remain unemployed. With these measures, they would be able to afford better quality child care. There will be a different outcome if one has €16,000 a year to spend on child care as opposed to only €8,000.