Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Robert Troy for allowing the House to discuss child care issues in Private Members' business. Given that we share common aims, it is regrettable that the Government is seeking to divide the House on the motion before us and chose not to engage with us to try to agree a wording that could have brought all sides in the House together.

I welcome the Minister's appointment. It was an historic departure, and she has performed well in the past three years. She was, however, preceded in office by a number of strong individuals. I have in mind our late colleague, Mr. Brian Lenihan, Deputy Brendan Smith, Ms Mary Hanafin and Mr. Barry Andrews, all of whom struggled, as junior Ministers, with very difficult challenges in the children's brief. For example, they had to deal with legacy issues such as the abuse of children and all the issues associated with that aspect of our past. They also established capital infrastructure and a nationwide network of community child care facilities and introduced the standards under which public and private child care providers must operate. All of this was achieved by previous Ministers with the support of previous Governments. It is regrettable, therefore, that some Government Deputies sought to make a political football of this issue. Major achievements were secured before the current Minister had the fortune to be appointed to Cabinet.

The challenge the Minister faces is that other Departments now believe they no longer have responsibility for children. Children are the responsibility of all Departments and, given the consequences actions in this area can have, this responsibility cannot be delegated solely to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Every Minister must play a role and every Government decision must be child-proofed.

Deputy Troy, in this motion and a number of policy documents, proposes a number of responses to critical issues facing many people. As we progress towards some semblance of economic recovery, the biggest issue we face is the creation of employment. We must review every potential employment trap, including in the area of child care. For many families, the cost of private child care, particularly in Dublin, is higher than their mortgage payments. Providing basic care for their children puts many parents to the pin of their collar. They are not seeking services with bells and whistles on or, to borrow a phrase from the Minister for Finance, gold-plated child care provision. The cost of basic child care services is such that both parents must work to pay for it. This leaves many parents facing the decision not to work because they cannot afford child care. The financial consequences of paying for child care has resulted in many parents choosing not to work. This issue must be addressed.

It is fine for the Taoiseach and spokespersons of IBEC to parade around speaking of tax cuts. They should first address the anomaly in the system that means many parents are better off staying at home than choosing to return to work. Deputy Troy's proposal to introduce a tax break for working families, specifically for those whose income is marginally above the family income supplement threshold, should be considered before tax cuts are introduced. The level of support proposed - 40% of child care costs - is targeted and would benefit approximately 5,200 children. It would give people an opportunity, if they so wished, to participate in the economic recovery and use their skills. People should not be forced to stay at home because of the costs of child care.

Research carried out by Indecon in a rural and an urban area shows that the costs of child care are escalating. Indecon also carried out a cost-benefit analysis of the targeted tax incentive proposed by Deputy Troy. It found that the measure would have a positive economic benefit, with society securing economic gains of €1.17 for every €1 cost incurred. While not everything should be viewed from a purely economic perspective, it is important to show the incentive would have an economic return. Having people involved in a working environment would also deliver a social return. In that sense, everyone is a winner.

As Deputy Ó Fearghaíl noted, early child care services are failing children with special needs. Deputy Colm Keaveney discovered last week through a parliamentary question that we do not have early intervention teams. As the cases highlighted by Deputy Ó Fearghaíl demonstrated, securing services for children with special needs is a nightmare and a daily struggle for parents. All Deputies are fighting to get medical cards for children with Down's syndrome and basic disabilities. The Minister should fight for this type of basic service for children. Regardless of which party is in government, the system opposes this type of early intervention.

The system is so determined to fight parents who have a child with special needs that it forgets its purpose is to serve them. In terms of child care, we need to focus on the reason in 2014 we continue to make children with special needs fight for everything they get. It is beyond me. If at the end of her term in office the Minister has managed to put manners on that part of the system which sees its job as fighting children that will be one hell of an achievement. Given that her term will, possibly, expire in 2016 she could be the one Minister who has lived up to the terms of the Proclamation. Surely, that is not too much to ask for. We have put in place a massive infrastructure countrywide and a huge legislative infrastructure behind it. We have also put in place all sorts of standards and regulations yet the same system that trumpets and enforces these standards is determined to fight parents. This must stop if we are to believe in everything we are putting in place.

There are many heroes in the child care sector. There are communities countrywide which have come together to meet needs in rural areas. While there were grants available, grants are no good without people willing to take on the job that goes with administering them. Our county child care committees are a fantastic example of how local government can work well with local community interests in providing services. Many of the private operators who got into this area did so when it was very much white territory and there were no standards or provisions around it. Some 90% of them provide a great service to this day. All of them have been let down by the revelations in recent years. That, too, must stop. Until we reach the stage of being a country where every child is treated equally and where every Department and not only one ministry has responsibility for children the notion of having a Minister with responsibility for children will be eroded, as will the achievements of the current Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, in that role.

The children's referendum, which arose in the context of our poor and appalling history of child care in this country, was almost defeated. We appear still to be pushing against a considerable body of opposition to progressing children's law. We must work on those issues in respect of which we can be of assistance. What Deputy Troy has proposed in the motion in terms of tax breaks, direct payments and a range of issues around parental leave brings this to the next level and puts meat onto the ministry. I hope that at the end of the term of office of this first Minister for Children - hopefully there will be more to follow - it will be possible to point to all that has been achieved and to say that we have made a difference to the lives of children. Building on the achievements of her predecessors, this is the chance for the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, to leave her mark. Deputy Troy has put forward some very good suggestions. I regret the Government proposes to divide the House on this first occasion in three years when child care matters have been raised during Private Members' business. It is unfortunate given the spirit of the motion and the support therein for the Minister's office and the Minister.

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