Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and thank Deputy Troy for bringing it before the House.

Good quality child care that provides positive experiences and promotes children's opportunities to develop is a starting point for lifelong achievement. Unfortunately, this has yet to become the reality for families in Ireland. With rising costs and tough economic conditions, many people are experiencing financial pressures and child care costs has become a second mortgage. Sinn Féin supports much of what is in the motion but we will not take lectures from Fianna Fáil on child care. In government, Fianna Fáil did nothing to assist middle and low income families to access quality, affordable child care.

Sinn Féin believes that child care is a right and policy must be geared to the needs of children and families rather than solely to the needs of the labour market. This State still has one of the lowest rates of child care provision in the EU. Child care costs almost one third of the average disposable income of a double income family. It has become the second mortgage. Many families on low incomes either cannot access child care or must pay a disproportionate amount of their income on massive weekly child care bills. The lack of quality affordable child care prevents many women who wish to do so from working outside the home. There is an urgent need to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for child care provision. The provision of affordable and quality child care is a priority for Sinn Féin. The difference between Sinn Féin and other parties is that Sinn Féin when given the opportunity does deliver.

In September of last year, Sinn Féin launched Bright Start, which is the Northern Assembly's programme for affordable and integrated child care. Bright Start and its key first actions aim to address the need for a programme of affordable and integrated child care. Sinn Féin believes that work is a sure path out of disadvantage and wants Bright Start to help as many people as possible in taking that path. To enable us identify the priority needs of people living here, we have listened to parents and child care providers. Despite not having any tax raising powers in the Assembly and an ever-decreasing budget from the Tory Government in London, the first actions of the Bright Start strategy will include the creation of 3,000 places for school age child care targeted at families in need and 2,000 places in the school estate. It will also support a rural child minder package to create an additional 1,000 places in rural locations and develop a scheme to improve outcomes for disabled children.

We believe this Government should have the following goals and should work to achieve them within the lifetime of this Dáil: to support the provision of the best care for all children; to enable all parents to reconcile their child care needs with participation in the labour force, education and training; to enable all parents to exercise their choice to care for their children full-time up to one year old; to enable all parents to access affordable child care for their children; to establish universal State provision of preschool for all children from the age of three to five years; and to establish a universal provision of early childhood care and education based on the best international models.

Sinn Féin will be supporting Deputy Troy's motion.

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