Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I wish to draw the Minister's attention to the issue of child benefit and child care. I and some colleagues drew up a document on child care for the Minister for Finance. The main instrument of support for child care to date has been child benefit. Child benefit has been increased from €33 per week to approximately €35 per week. However, the cheapest community-based crèche costs €88 per week. Therefore, the sum of €35 as the chief financial support for child care is total nonsense. Furthermore, the cost of a private crèche is approximately €160 or €170 per week.

To address the poverty trap of the future, children aged one to four years should become the responsibility of the State and the State should look after their education as soon as they come into the world. Why do we take responsibility for children only from the age of five years until they are 21 years? The former Minister for Education, Donogh O'Malley, had the vision and the imagination to introduce free secondary education and that is what opened up the country. The Government must take responsibility for educating children.

I visited a community crèche yesterday run by Councillor Liz McCormack in Athboy. It is a sight to see children aged from three months and older getting stimulation in this way. Our children will not be able to hold their own either socially or economically with their competitors in other countries around the world in the future because child care is inaccessible. There are not enough places and it is too expensive. The Minister should put this high on his agenda.

Child care issues cross 11 Departments. About two weeks ago I made the point in a radio interview that child care issues should be dealt with by one Department, the Department of Social and Family Affairs. This should be the number one priority if the poverty the Minister is trying to eliminate is to be prevented. When I studied this area I came to the conclusion that many of the policies have been reactive rather than visionary or part of an overall plan. We have a very serious crisis regarding the availability and accessibility of good quality child care for lone parents, middle income parents, high income parents. They all have a problem.