Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate. Like my colleagues, many of my constituents have been in touch with me to express great concern regarding the Government's proposals and the new arrangements that are supposed to benefit parents who are in need of child care facilities. While one would have hoped that any new Government amendments to the current system would prove beneficial to parents, unfortunately the opposite is the case. The new proposals will have several serious disadvantages for parents who have been able until now to avail of a reasonably-priced child care service.

The acquisition of affordable quality child care remains one of the principal challenges facing all parents and young and first-time parents in particular. The proposed amendments to the current system will certainly lead to many parents being forced to give up work or being driven away from opportunities to return to education. The only parents who will be eligible for subvention assistance under the new Government proposal will be those in receipt of social welfare or family income supplement payments.

For such parents, especially single parents and those on low incomes, the new system will act as an incentive to go back on social welfare, thus creating a new poverty trap for them. The removal of access to affordable child care for such parents is a retrograde step designed only to create an environment in which those who endeavour to improve their lot are penalised and may find themselves back in the revolving door of the social welfare system. This benefits no one: not the parents, the children, the community nor the State. Moreover, there is no provision in the new system for access to subventions for grandparents, for example, who have their grandchildren in child care and early leaning facilities. Frequently, such children come from very difficult backgrounds and early intervention and positive child care is an absolute necessity to provide them with a decent opportunity.

Another problem has been highlighted by many of those who have spoken to me on this issue, namely, the segregation of children. The only children who will be entitled to avail of community crèche facilities will be those whose parents are in receipt of social welfare benefits. As other parents will be required to pay, it not unreasonable to assume they will move their children to private child care facilities. Once again, the net result will be the creation of a two-tier system. Only those in receipt of social welfare payments will be forced to send their children to community child care facilities, while other parents will avail of private child care facilities and the social mix that is so important for childhood development simply will be removed from the system.

Rather than cutting out those who most need support, the Minister should examine the services and facilities that are available at present and ensure they are workable and are allowed to work. What is the logic behind providing a state-of-the-art child care facility and then failing to provide the funding to run it? This is precisely what has happened in one child care facility I visited in Ballyfermot. The Star is a superb facility for which wonderful people are ready to work. While its opening ceremony was conducted with much aplomb, it appears that its only purpose was as a photo opportunity for a Minister.

The consequences of the new proposal will include segregation, isolation, exclusion, poverty traps, the loss of jobs because community child care facilities will not be able to fund the staffing required and damage to the early learning of children.

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