Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

The time has come for the Minister to examine this provision thoroughly. I had a long discussion with the Minister when he introduced it and I hoped that it would help some people providing child care. Many value this service, particularly those who can come home early from work and have a half day's child care every day. It has not worked, however, for various reasons. Some of the associated technical regulations such as the number of children has proved awkward, for example for a person who minds some children in the morning and some in the afternoon. A teacher, for example, can be home at 3 p.m. or 3.30 p.m. I have told the Minister before that in the Dublin area, which I have reason to believe is typical of the whole country, it is not possible to get part-time child care. A husband and wife who juggle their hours, such as public servants working on flextime, may need only 25 hours of child care a week.

It is almost impossible to get part-time child care in most commercial and large crèches, including some of the community crèches, because of the charging system. This will get worse when the new charging system is introduced in community crèches. The only alternative is private child care. This should be to a good standard, the providers ought to be insured and registered with the health board, have training and it ought to provide them with income support without entangling them in red tape and bureaucracy. I do not wish to repeat the arguments made a couple of years ago when he introduced this measure. I complimented the Minister then on bringing it in because fundamentally it is a good move. Some of the private child care providers do not particularly care for it because they think it has brought in additional competition for scarce child care workers but equally there is a high demand for less than full-time child care.

For the reasons we discussed on amendment No. 5 some women want to retain a connection with the workforce. They may have employers, particularly in the public service, who will allow them more flexible working hours. This may also apply to men. The partners may be able to take some time off with the effect that they can be with their children more often which dramatically reduces the child care bill. This is also socially desirable. The Minister ought to take an opportunity to examine why this provision has not worked as well as we thought it would.

I would not worry too much about some of the large commercial crèches which have tax breaks. There are different kinds of child care and care provided in a child's home or the child minder's home which is local, friendly and registered and of a proper standard is the Rolls Royce model for many people. Their child is not cared for with too many other children. This is important, particularly for small babies. I support the spirit of the amendment to improve and make this provision more attractive but that alone will not be sufficient. The problems in this relief go deeper. We all share the view that people should have options about the kind of child care the parents would most like and with which they are most comfortable.

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