Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste can try to muddy the waters as much as he likes but the context that is important here is that the Minister made a commitment to reduce the cost of childcare for parents by 50%. That was the promise and that was the commitment. The question now for the Government is whether it is actually going to meet that commitment. That is the only question the Tánaiste had to answer,"Yes" or "No". In the budget next week will parents be able to rely on the commitment the Minister gave two years ago? Parents need to know what is going to happen next week. As well as that, they also need to know that they can trust these commitments. If a promise is made for a 50% reduction, that should be in place now. It should not be in negotiations and it should not be at the point where discussions are still happening between the Minister and the Minister for Finance. That commitment was made two years ago. The question for the Tánaiste is whether the Government is going to meet the commitment that it made to parents or whether it is going to leave them behind yet again.

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