James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

We are asking the Government to postpone the introduction of this proposed new child care subvention scheme as it will, intentionally or not, reduce the availability of child care in our communities. Many people from the Government side of the House expressed their concern about that also. It is good to hear positivity coming from the other side of the House regarding the concerns that were expressed here last week and the week before.

The Government is again spending more money with the net effect of reducing service, as the motion points out, because it will impose intolerable financial pressures on many parents by increasing the cost of child care. It will force parents to leave employment and become dependent on social welfare payments. It will cause the closure of many not for profit crèches throughout the country and make it difficult for crèches to recruit staff on a permanent basis.

It is the families on the lowest income who will suffer, as is so often the case with this Government. Those parents have come together to provide child care in a co-operative and community orientated way, and they will now be penalised. I am aware of one such project in its infancy in Balbriggan town where parents have come together as a group to provide a 37 place community crèche. They now wonder if their efforts at self-help will be sunk by this mean-minded reduction in child care subvention for low income families. Those families cannot avail of child care on the open market as it is beyond their means.

I have also received representation from a voluntary child care group in Skerries that has struggled long and hard to maintain and provide a voluntary not for profit child care service in the town for families who could not afford the alternative for profit expensive child care. They are very concerned they may lose a substantial proportion of their annual child care subvention. Fees charged to some of their low income families may increase by up to 50%. I urge the Minister to reconsider this retrograde and family unfriendly measure.

See this speech in context