Ms Eilís Ní Chaithnía:

The universal child care model we have been talking about and the first step taken by the Minister is not being presented as the panacea for what is becoming a much more precarious environment. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked us about legislating against precarious working conditions and contracts. We stated in our pre-budget submission that this should happen. We have also called for an increase to the home carer's credit. We seek a further increase in that.

Ms Michelle Murphy has talked about the need for lowering the cost of living across Ireland. That needs to happen in addition to the introduction of the new scheme proposed by the Minister. A range of measures need to be put in place. The initial affordable child care scheme cannot address all the issues the Deputy identified but it certainly makes provision for women who wish to engage in the labour market.

Many issues arise over the activation policies that are in place. The National Women's Council refers to them regularly. We have carried out research on young women who are incredibly frustrated by the fact that the activation measures currently in place are forcing them into the very same sectors that are offering part-time precarious work. This is often due to de factounconscious gender bias in that the officers assume the women want to go into the types of roles that women go into, thus forcing them into sectors such as the retail and hospitality sectors, where they will be stuck in low-paid, precarious jobs.

There is a range of measures. If Deputy Eamon Ryan has not seen our pre-budget submission, he should note it touches on a number of the issues he is raising.