Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

During the debate, the Fianna Fáil Party candidate was ochóning the cost of child care, and stated that she paid an astronomical amount of money and asked what would happen if Fianna Fáil were returned. The exact same points applied ten years ago when Fianna Fáil was in power and the Government had loads of money. The problem is that we view child care the wrong way around and the model is based on privatised child care. If we do not address this, the measures will not get to the overall root of the problem, although some of them will help some people.

After maternity leave and before children go to school, there is an enormous gap during which families are, in the main, left on their own and have to pay through the nose. Has there been any discussion about linking serious preschool as a State-run programme, like education, which every family could access? We can address it only by funding it from central taxation.

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