Margaret Cox (Fianna Fail)

As we prepare for the budget I am seeking a debate on the issue of child care. While I acknowledge significant strides have been made in this area in the past five or six years through increases in child benefit and the number of crèche places available, the manner in which we deal with the provision of child care is fundamentally flawed. That a recent survey showed that over 30% of the respondents spend more on child care in a month than they do on their mortgage is a sign something is drastically wrong. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the subject so that Senators can pool their knowledge and ideas and perhaps achieve some reform of the system in order to resolve this issue for working parents.