Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for including this issue for debate. Like most Members, I welcome the initiatives taken by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Reilly, in the recent budget in regard to child care. Any improvements in the child care sector must be welcomed. As Members are aware, there are shortcomings in the sector, principally due to the fact that child care is so expensive in this jurisdiction. Child care costs here are probably the most expensive in Europe. In some European countries child care is provided for as little as €150 a month and in France subsidised child care is provided. In Ireland, particularly in large urban centres, child care costs can be as high as €1,000 a month per child. Costs are lower in rural areas, but in general the cost is prohibitive. Repeatedly, people say the cost of child care is the equivalent of having an additional mortgage. This is true for many families.

While we welcome the improvements announced in the budget, the additional places, etc. many of us have pointed out some of the shortcomings in regard to the initiatives. My concern about the findings of the survey conducted by Early Childhood Ireland which was published yesterday. Some issues raised in the survey are of concern. The survey highlighted that 62% of respondents said they did not plan to expand their child care service as a result of the budget proposals, while 27% said they were not sure whether they would. The big issue in terms of the challenge to expand to meet the needs of the proposed scheme is capitation. Child care providers say capitation is too low. Another issue is the lack of space and funding to expand their facilities.

The survey also highlighted that in response to the question of whether the changes in the budget were good for child care providers, 23% said "No", while 49% said they were not sure yet. These are serious issues if we are to improve child care services. The Minister acknowledged when the budget was announced that we are on a new journey in terms of bringing about improvements in child care. If the results of the Early Childhood Ireland survey are true, we face serious issues in regard to improving child care in the future, which is why I have raised this issue.

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