Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is good that the Minister acknowledges her predecessor an odd time. She cannot simply wash her hands and say markets dictate the cost of child care. It is too big an issue. The Minister correctly outlined the various figures that have been bandied about on the cost of child care. It costs up to €1,100 a month in parts of Dublin for child care. The cost is restricting the ability of people to return to the workplace. It is more expensive than the average monthly mortgage and something must be done about it. A significant amount of money was invested in community child care facilities in recent years. We should consider providing more community facilities because they provide greater affordability of care. At the same time community child care facilities are being attacked by the savage cuts to the community employment schemes. I am a board member of a community child care facility. Without the community employment scheme workers on the staff it would not be possible to continue in existence. I urge the Minister to examine the issue seriously. We must bring about a situation whereby child care in this country is affordable. The cost of child care in this country is one of the highest in the OECD. That is not acceptable and something must be done to address it. The Minister could consider splitting maternity leave between parents. We must be innovative in how we approach the issue to ensure that we reduce the cost of child care because it is unsustainable.

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