Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)

Did the Minister of State have an input into the proposals put forward by his Department? As a rural TD, he must understand the repercussions of his proposals. Crèches in rural areas are not as efficient as those in urban areas. In rural areas, occupancy of 65% is common so it is impossible to work as cost effectively as in a crèche in an urban area.

In many cases both spouses are working, the mother is unable to find work three or four miles away and invariably must travel 30 miles in a car, costing up to €120 per week, to get to work. Who decides the percentage of income that makes child care affordable? This has not been addressed in the value for money report. Were the Minister of State's proposals to go ahead, such women would be obliged to leave the workplace and would no longer contribute towards their pensions. Given that this policy is being promoted by the Government, the proposal has not been thought through.

How will grants be calculated and distributed? I understand that grants are being calculated by the number of children in the crèche. My calculations suggest that grants are not being calculated on the basis of the age of the children in the crèche. I refer to the cost to the Exchequer. A total of 50% of a typical grant of €78,000 to a child care facility will return to the Government in PAYE and PRSI contributions. Consequently, accurate and reflective data regarding the actual cost to the Government should be obtained. I must also emphasise another point. A new child care facility has been built in my locality at a cost of €1.25 million. Were the Minister of State to proceed with his proposals, its doors would not open. We will be left with white elephants throughout Ireland.

This week I spoke to a lady who has two children under three years of age. She gets them out of bed every morning at 6.15 a.m. to reach the child care facility by 7.15 a.m. to facilitate her arrival at work at 8 a.m. She has a net income of €410 and her child care costs her €270. She works 40 hours per week for a take home wage of €140 per week. I ask the Minister of State and Members on the other side of the House to support this motion and to think of the mothers and their children nationwide.

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