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

I am not at liberty to say exactly how much money I am looking for from the Minister for Finance, but what I will say - this is an equally important response to the Deputy's question - is that the two main barriers to women re-entering the workforce include not only childcare costs but also capacity in the school-age sector. As the Deputy knows, there are now two years of free pre-school, but it does not move into after-school care. Of course, if women want to return to work, even part-time work, sometimes not having the required after-school care support gets in the way. We need to build capacity. The lack of transport from schools to after-school facilities prevents women who wish to do so from returning to work. I have these two key practical issues in mind in considering what is required. While we need money, we also need to decide what the money is for. There is a focus on some of these issues to ensure the concern about women returning to work will be addressed.

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