Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share Deputy Troy's view on the provision of child care facilities. I have worked over many years to ensure that parents have proper child care available to them. What has happened in this country in the past ten years is that instead of delivering a universal free service the money was put into, for example, the child care supplement, which was then withdrawn. A total of €1.2 billion was withdrawn from that payment but it was put into the ECCE scheme. We have tended to focus on direct cash payments to parents rather than developing the kind of service Deputy Troy says ought to exist. I would like to have seen such a system being developed in recent years but it was not and now parents are paying the price of commercial rates which are very high. I agree with Deputy Troy that they are like a mortgage for many parents. I fully understand the situation parents face. It is extraordinarily difficult for families and makes it extremely difficult for many families who want to avail of those services to combine work and family life.

As Deputy Troy indicated, there are 950 community services throughout the country. They have been built up in recent years and they are participating in the CCS programme all over the country from which 25,000 children benefit, in addition to 90% of three to four year olds. I would like to see a second ECCE year. I would like child care to be provided for all children between the ages of three and five before they go to primary school. I would like to think that when the budgetary situation improves and we are in a position to put more money into child care that will be one of the places it will be invested.

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