Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

This Bill shows clearly how out of touch, uncaring and plain stupid this Government is in its continued desire to serve vested interests rather than the general public interest, for the betterment and development of society. The Government is addressing the issue of parental leave in this Bill in a threadbare, bare minimum, bargain basement manner that reflects its general attitude to how we raise children. It is disgraceful that it is presenting such a limited and narrow Bill.

This Bill does not go far enough. It sticks to the bare minimum that we are forced to achieve under European regulations of 14 weeks. The Minister of State should double that figure and then come back to the House to see what type of reception he gets.

The Bill divides our society by not allowing for paid parental leave, as exists in so many other European countries which do not seem to have a problem in making such provision. The Government is treating the children of this country differently. It is saying to wealthy parents that by all means they can have parental leave because they can afford it. If parents are poor and cannot afford to take parental leave because of a loss of salary, the Government is saying it is sorry it is not for them. There is a disgraceful gap in this legislation. This is an example of how the Government seems to be run by the needs of IBEC and its short-term view of what is good for the economy, rather than by a proper analysis of what is really needed.

The Bill provides no real flexibility but rather introduces minor changes in terms of allowing people to take parental leave in blocks. This is only a fraction of what could and should have been achieved if the Government was to take a genuine approach to provide what parents of young children want, which is flexibility. Parents do not want to be back in work as soon as maternity leave ends. They want choices and flexibility to reflect the realities of life with young children. There are occasions when parents have to be at home, if children are sick or there are other problems. There are occasions when parents want to be at home to enjoy those precious early years when their children are developing.

This Bill does not go far enough in terms of what it could introduce. I could not agree more with Deputy Carey, who acted as the Government's opposition from its own benches, and made the case for paternity leave so fathers can get involved from the very earliest stage and get to know what it is like to raise children. Fathers could also return to parenting at a later stage if we had a proper parental leave system. This Bill does not go nearly far enough to introduce the changes that parents in this country want. It is a remarkable mistake on this Government's part, at a time when we are beginning to really debate the issue of how we want to raise children, to produce such a narrow, limited and mean Bill.

We must look at the experience of parents with young children, at what we want and what they want. They want choice but the Government has restricted choice. Individualisation means that the parent who stays at home and works is disadvantaged to the tune of €5,000 a year as against the parent who does not choose to do this. This is unequal treatment of people who wish to make different parenting choices. It is a remarkable effort in trying to affect the way people raise their children.

It is difficult for parents to make choices. It is up to them to choose what is best for their children. Parents may decide it is right for them to go back to work and that their child care arrangements are satisfactory. My experience is that there should be flexibility for parents to be able to make these choices. They do not want to go back to what they have being doing for the past ten or 15 years, working from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. and taking the long commute home. While parents with young children may want to continue working, they want flexible arrangements such as part-time working arrangements, term time working arrangements and extensive parental leave, which will allow them to take lengthy breaks and not just continue working, getting home at 8 p.m. and having a short time before putting the children to bed and starting again the following day.

The Minister of State should recognise that this is not the treadmill upon which parents want to be. He should provide for the flexibility that would go some way towards providing what parents want. If he does not do so, parents will choose not to stay in the workforce and not to follow the Government or IBEC's wishes, because it does not work. It does not work if parents must work long hours while trying to raise children. People are missing out on the precious things in life. It should not be about competitiveness and nothing else, which is all the Government considers because it knows the value of nothing.

The Minister, Deputy Brennan, said recently that we could engage in a Dutch auction in regard to child care facilities. He is correct that we should be careful in this regard. We should begin from the premise that we treat all parents equally in the choices they make. However, the Minister should not make such a statement because, one week later, when the legislation was introduced, the Taoiseach said he was concerned that we were engaged in a race to the bottom. This form of thinking by the Government drags us down to the bottom. The Government is pulling us down to the bottom. In those circumstances, it cannot but be a political issue whereby other parties will say they are sorry, that this is not the type of Ireland they want. We want to follow a European social model that works, gives parents real flexibility and, in the long-term, will be better for the economy. It is a political issue, which the Government got wrong, and I assure the Minister of State that this side of the House will do things differently if in Government.

I do not know whether the Minister of State can wake up to this fact on Committee Stage. Yesterday, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform introduced a new Bill on Committee Stage so there is no reason the Minister of State cannot do so. He should wake up, smell the coffee and realise that this Bill does not reflect the modern Ireland and the changes people want. The hope is that the Government will get rid of some of its arrogance, stop listening to one or two vested interests that dominate it and begin planning society on the basis of what is good for people and good for the economy in the long-term. Until the Government does this, there is no hope for it.

See this speech in context