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

The design and implementation of the affordable childcare scheme are rooted in the fundamental principle of reducing children's poverty and its impact on households. That underlies the objectives of having affordable, accessible and quality childcare. We can see the result of our investment. It is not a question of how much money is spent but of where it goes. When talking about children in poverty or in consistent poverty, we are talking about children in families in which an individual earns 60% of the median income. This amounts to €12,227. This is tough.

I will give the Deputy another example of what we have brought forward through our initiatives. It is that of a lone parent with two children in receipt of various payments, including the one-parent family payment. That payment comes from colleagues. The family holds a medical card. For the two year old, the family receives a subsidy of €145 per week. The family has a six year old and it can avail of the after-school payment of up to €80 per week. In essence, this lone parent family with two children, aged two and six, receives €12,320 in subsidies to support its childcare costs. That is what is going on right now. That reduces children's poverty right now in the country.

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