Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I hope the Minister will come up with something more imaginative then just the free preschool year, welcome as it is. After that provision is made, families still have to pay huge amounts in child care costs.

Ironically, the Government spends approximately €260 million per year on child care. This is about the same amount that Ireland will be paying to the EU for our leprechaun economic statistics. When one considers the figure in that context, it is very little money. There is a huge amount of untapped and untaxed wealth and resources in the State that could be used to subsidise child care. For example, if there were a progressive tax system, billions of euro could be raised to invest in child care.

The richest 300 people in Ireland hold a combined wealth of €84 billion. This is an area that could be taxed. The corporation tax rate could be reviewed which would allow for €2 billion extra fiscal space in the economy this year. Those are the kinds of measures that are required. It makes a huge difference to children if they receive quality child care rather than what is available at the moment dependent upon parents' resources.

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