Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Reilly, has welcomed the opportunity to address the concerns raised by Deputies and to outline in detail the many positive developments in the provision of preschool care and education. I echo his words and thank Deputies for their contributions.

Access to affordable and high-quality child care is an important issue for parents, particularly where both parents participate in the workforce. As a number of colleagues have mentioned, it is also important for those stuck with high mortgages. Indeed, they are very high where I live in County Meath, Navan and the towns in the Dublin region. However, it is not the case that people are slaves to bricks and mortars. I was surprised by Deputy Kelleher's comment. Rather, they are stuck with high mortgages because a previous Government failed them. That Government was a slave to bad planning and development and could not resist the high taxes to be gained from construction.

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