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

This situation did not develop overnight. Let us look at what happened in the past 12 years in terms of investment in child care. Of the money invested in child care, 60% went into bricks and mortar, 40% went on direct payment to parents and there was little focus in recent years on building up precisely what Deputy Troy describes, namely, an affordable child care service for parents across the spectrum. The reason parents are paying so much for child care is because there has not been a policy of subsidising child care. There has been a focus on direct cash payments. There has not been a willingness by the State to subsidise child care for the very parents to whom Deputy Troy refers.

I agree with Deputy Troy that it is not the case that those working in child care are being paid huge wages or that the vast majority of child care services are overcharging - they are not. In order to change the situation Deputy Troy describes, more investment by the State will be required. As growth returns to the economy I would like to see the introduction of subsidised child care that will reduce the current heavy costs on parents. I am working towards that aim. I am taking an incremental approach to bring about the kind of changes to which I have referred.

If we brought in a second free preschool year it would save parents approximately €4,000 a year even though it does not involve full day care. That would be a substantial contribution to parents. Of equal importance is the provision of after-school care. It is important to maintain the free preschool year, which is also helping parents, at a time of economic difficulty. It is clear that we cannot implement a new system overnight to replicate what we see in other countries as the cost would be prohibitive, but it remains a goal of my Department to make child care more accessible and more affordable for more parents in this country.

See this speech in context