Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Chairman's comments about ensuring that we move from having one of the most expensive to having one of the most affordable child care systems. I take on board his remarks about reviewing our targets in terms of the percentage of GDP spent on child care in the context of negotiating funding for increased investment. Many Deputies have referred, in response to the last few budgets, to the importance of moving towards increased investment as a percentage of GDP. Of course, if our GDP goes up then even if we do not increase the target in percentage terms, we spend more. I am glad that the Deputy reminded me of that point and I promise to look at it in the context of preparing for the next set of negotiations.

We have been thinking we are very far behind in this context and what we need to do to catch up, but we will look at it more realistically and ensure those arguments are brought to bear in the next set of negotiations. I agree with the Chairman on this aspect and I believe it is worth renewing our focus on that.

We will have one Bill and regulations. My understanding is that the process will probably start in the Dáil on 31 January, which is great. I expect the co-operation of all members of the committee to move it quickly through the Dáil. We will do that together.

On the question around procurement and getting a provider or developer, the timeframe I mentioned includes a cooling-off period. Our ICT steering group has considered best practice in this area.

Regarding the commercial rates issue, I certainly have looked at that previously. The Chairman is right to raise it again. It is a very important issue regarding costs. My officials have engaged with the Department of Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and other relevant Departments to discuss this issue. My understanding is that such change would require a legislative change. I will be raising this with my Government colleagues. There is a strong case to be made for this. As the Chairman put it, the purpose of such provision may not be fully commercial, which is part of the argument in terms of the educational aspect. There should be scope for change. At the very least we should have another go at this and we have been engaging on it, but it would require a legislative change. That is another aspect we would need to consider.