Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Rabbitte. I would be a pragmatic idealist. I recognise that the timeframe for introducing the scheme is ambitious, not least because the legislation, as the Deputy states and as I have indicated, will have to be in place before the scheme can commence. Officials in my Department are working to ensure the heads of the Bill will be brought forward for Government approval in the new year.

A key piece of the existing legislation that needs to be examined, and this is what the Deputy refers to, is the Social Welfare Consolidation Act of 2005 because that specifies the bodies that can use PPS numbers and the purpose for which they can be shared. In the process of bringing in the affordable child care legislation, we will look at that Act to determine any necessary amendments.

The reason the PPS numbers and data sharing arrangements are so critical is an online IT application system will be developed that will allow the parents to apply for subsidies online by entering these numbers and other details, such as their work and training status. As the Deputy indicates, that takes several Departments to work together. We need to be ambitious.

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