John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I am glad to have the opportunity to contribute briefly to this debate on our community child care services and I commend Deputy Shatter and Fine Gael on bringing forward this motion.

There is deep concern among community child care providers across the country that the proposed new child care subvention scheme will only lead to greater disadvantage within our communities. The new scheme would lead to massively increased fees which people on low incomes would find impossible to pay. The result would be that many community child care providers would be forced to close. In many cases, people on low incomes will be better off not working so that they have access to cheaper child care. We should make no mistake about it, this new scheme is a disincentive for people to join the workforce.

We are told that the changes being introduced are targeted at those who are disadvantaged, but the reality will be that these people will also be faced with a doubling of fees. Meanwhile, the increase in fees will create a whole new disadvantaged section of the population who are unable to afford child care. Staffing will be affected, jobs will be at risk and trained staff will be lost, which will in turn affect the quality of the service provided.

There is genuine fear among all partners involved in the provision of child care at the moment. In many cases, people from families in which two parents have entered the workforce are telling me that one of them will have to give up working outside the home. Many representatives of community child care groups have asked me whether the purpose of this scheme is to close down the community child care system. They also say that the changes are being proposed by people who have no understanding of how community models work. We should remember that these services are being run in the community by voluntary committees of working mothers who have invested much time and energy in making the projects the success that they are. In many cases staff attend meetings, training events and information sessions without any remittance from their employers. In most cases employers cannot afford the cost so employees bear the cost of training and related expenses.

If something is not broken, why fix it? Instead of rewarding these voluntary groups with praise for a job well done and continuing the scheme, the proposed changes are pulling the rug from under the feet of the community. Under the new scheme, the role of the community representatives will be more onerous because they will have to collect sensitive data from parents who, in many cases, are their neighbours. This should not have to be done by volunteers. Small rural child care providers in such areas of Mayo as Killeen, Clare Island, Bangor Erris, Bofeenan, Ballycroy, Robeen, Ballyglass, Ballinrobe and Kilmaine, to name but a few, who have explained their case to me, say that they will close if these changes go ahead. If they close, it is not because they are inefficiently managed but rather because of these ill thought-out changes to the scheme. I strongly support the Fine Gael motion.

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