Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the clarification. She has answered one part: there will be a gap for about ten months in one strand of it if they need it. That is welcome. Depending on the number, will the Department be able to accommodate those exceptional cases that come forward?

I have an example of Mary, a single parent with an 18 month old child, John. She has been out of work since the lad was born and she has now decided to go back. The only subsidy she can get is for 15 hours, which will increase to 20 hours, but technically she needs 30. However, she cannot get a childcare place because, as we all know, capacity in Dublin is a major issue and a parent can only enrol a small child if they are prepared to enrol that child full time. She will be unable to afford full-time childcare. Therein is another problem because under the old scheme she could have got full-time childcare support. How will the Minister square that circle?

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