Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I support Deputy Paul McGrath's amendment enthusiastically. He has reflected the factual circumstances in which the greater number of parents find themselves. I am one of those parents who are directly affected by childminding costs. We have heard it said many times that such costs comprise the second mortgage. However, in the greater number of cases, including in my experience, childminding costs exceed the monthly mortgage commitment depending on the number of children and the opportunities available. In the cases of some families, including mine, children are attending more than one service provider daily.

There is a great responsibility to recognise the importance of addressing this area. I indicated prior to my making my pre-budget submission to the Minister for Finance that this was the single most important issue that needed to be addressed in his first budget. It is sad that he was unable to address this and related needs in respect of children's requirements on this occasion. It is therefore all the more important to impress on him the importance of prioritising the need to address this area for the budget for 2006.

Deputy Paul McGrath is quite right that child benefit, as the Government's preferred approach, comprises an erroneous response. I hope it is not the answer the Minister will offer because child benefit since its inception was never intended for this particular area. This is by and large a new growth area in terms of the changing reality of society whereby both parents or a single parent are in the workplace of necessity because of many reasons I and other colleagues have articulated during the course of our debate on this Bill.

We must also bear in mind that the system as it stands is a disincentive to people to have more children. There are no additional supports and certain people, particularly women who may have engaged in training or education, perhaps at third level, and who may have a career or profession, are quite rightly anxious to maintain their involvement in the workplace. The reality for many is that the greater part of what they earn is expended on childminding costs, particularly during their children's early and critical years. This is a considerable disincentive that is contrary to the interests of society and the economy, especially given the concerns over who will fund future pension provisions because of our depleting native workforce and our growing dependency on labour from overseas.

There is a need to take a holistic view of this matter and consider the by-products, deficiencies and negatives that arise from the system as it operates. I know many couples who would not consider having more children simply because of the affordability issue. Therefore, there is a bounden need to grapple with this issue and a responsibility on the Government to recognise the considerable scale and growth of the child care sector. One way by which the matter can be addressed, without detracting in any way from the Government's responsibility to provide safe, funded child-minding facilities, is to have preschool provision. This is not the direct responsibility of the Minister for Finance but the collective responsibility of the Cabinet. There is a considerable deficiency and a need for consistency and regulation in this sector, which is currently inadequately provided for.

On the Minister's direct responsibility, the proposition contained in Deputy Paul McGrath's amendment is worthy of his adoption. If in the budget for 2006 he addresses the serious need to extend relief to parents, whether they be single or in couples, he will have made a great contribution to the daily reality of ordinary people who grapple with the constraints of the demands they face. I commend the amendment to him and look forward to hearing his reply.

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