Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

This is a central issue in the budget and there is a raging debate, from what I read in the newspapers, within the Minister for Finance's party about possible discrimination between those on different incomes. I support the Minister, Deputy Zappone, in trying as much as possible to target support for those on low incomes. However, a second massive discrimination is about to be introduced which is a historic statement that Fine Gael is saying it does not want anyone to do unpaid care work, it wants people in the economy and to stop caring for children and it will make that happen by introducing budgetary measures - the Minister's budget - which give direct financial assistance to those who tick a particular option. I do not have a problem with that but if the Government is doing that, then it should give the same assistance who choose other options because parents are best placed to choose what is the best form of child care for their different circumstances. Every child is different and every family is different. Why is it that economic considerations seem to be driving the State and the Government to say that only one approach is right? The reality is that it is the Minister's budget which is delivering that strategic change of direction in this State. That is wrong and I would like to hear the Minister's view on child care, as the Minister introducing the measure.

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