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

This is a great opportunity to ask Deputy Varadkar a fundamental question. Where would he lead this country if he were Taoiseach? One aspect I wish to delve into is whether Deputy Varadkar is more Berlin or Boston in his attitude and thinking. A key example is where Deputy Varadkar lies on the issue of how we care for caring in this country.

We know now that Fine Gael does not want parents to care for their children in the home. We know this through the introduction of certain measures, including the combination of tax individualisation and supports for alternative care, something we also support, but also by the discrimination or lack of any support for parents who raise children in the home. In this way, Fine Gael is steering us in a Boston direction with all the downsides that brings.

Deputy Varadkar seemed to make it clear at the weekend that any further supports for parents in the home is out, that any supports for parents who might use childminders - again, they would be working in the home - is out and that any supports for grandparents who do that valuable and most important work is out as well.

No doubt, Deputy Varadkar will come back to us and say that the Government has just put in a paternity leave and benefit Bill. I very much welcome the fact that we now get two weeks parental benefit compared with getting nothing in the past. As part of this fundamental question of whether we go in the direction of Berlin or Boston, I wish to cite the fact that in Germany, as in 30 other European countries, people have potential access to up to three years of parental leave for either the father or mother. The Government maintains we are going all Scandinavian in the measures it is introducing, but I will outline the reality of what the Scandinavians do. In Norway, they provide paid parental benefit of up to 59 weeks. In Sweden they provide this leave for 480 days and have certain provisions to ensure the father takes up the leave. In Denmark, they take 52 weeks of parental leave. In case Deputy Varadkar makes the point that we have child benefit, those countries also have child benefit at €50 higher than our level. We are creating a system that amounts to going down the American corporation route to running our country. Would Deputy Varadkar have anything more to offer if he were leading Fine Gael in government, or is that it?

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