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

With all due respect, the Minister said 41 out of 6,000 places have been taken up. It is nothing but a disaster. The scheme is more than a year and a half old.

The Minister's predecessor, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, and his colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, identified this scheme to tackle the problems facing those who cannot afford child care. It was put in place to assist low income families who wished to return to the work place, but only 41 of the Government target of 6,000 places identified 18 months ago have been allocated. There are only 400 places identified, so even if the uptake of the scheme were greater, the places are not available.

I asked a specific question regarding the €14 million identified for this process. How much has been spent and on what is the balance being expended? Is the balance ring-fenced for the initial target, which was to support working parents with a concern about the affordability of child care? It is one of the biggest challenges facing the Minister's Department.

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