Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A huge problem for these families, as Deputy Nash knows, is the availability of affordable and quality child care. Child care can cost as much as 52% of the take home pay of a lone parent. The Tánaiste gave an absolutely categoric commitment in 2012 when she introduced this cut that it would not go ahead in the absence of a Scandinavian child care provision. Never mind having a Scandinavian child care provision, for Mandy and all those like her, there is virtually no child care provision. I am asking the Tánaiste to stick to her word and put it to her again that she should honour the commitment she made in 2012 not to proceed with this cut to the one parent family payment in the absence of available and affordable child care. Will the Tánaiste keep her word to these families?

See this speech in context