Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

I know. Fr. Healy will be pleased with the budget. He may have to say a prayer tonight so that he will praise the budget tomorrow. He cannot but be pleased at what has happened.

I was pleased with the mini agricultural package. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, had a hand in it because he has not forgotten where he came from. It is a good package which will help young farmers in particular.

I am sure the aspect which will be highlighted is taking those on the minimum wage out of the tax net. Senator John Paul Phelan made a point which I hope the Minister will answer. He said that these people will be out of the tax net in the middle of the year or following the next review of the minimum wage, and when their wages increase, they will go back into the tax net. I do not think it is as tightly honed as that. I am sure there will be some flexibility involved.

I will be honest and say that I agree with many of the points made by Senator O'Meara about child care. I know that Senator White feels the same way because she put a significant amount of work into a document which she brought to our parliamentary party meeting. I did not speak on the document but I seconded it. My two sons have very young families, and one is expecting his second child next week. One parent will have to stay home from work because they cannot afford the cost of child care. The Senator said that child care costs €150 a week but it costs much more. I was amazed at that figure. My son is paying €800 a month for one child and they will not be able to afford to pay for a second child. One parent must decide to stay at home. Both of them need their salaries, otherwise they will not be able to sustain a comfortable standard of living. It is a major dilemma and they have nobody in their immediate family to take over.