Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

It is interesting to hear Senator O'Rourke speak about the lack of maternity leave when she was teaching. Great strides have been made in this area in recent years, including the extension of maternity leave entitlement to 18 weeks, improved provision for unpaid maternity leave and the increase in child benefit. There have also been advancements in the availability of job-sharing opportunities. One of my sisters has availed of this option and it makes her life considerably easier.

However, much work remains to be done. Other than parents, those most affected by the non-availability of child care are grandparents. Instead of seeing their grandchildren occasionally, many are forced to take an active role in rearing them. In place of short visits on a Sunday afternoon, children are arriving on their grandparents' doorstep at 8 a.m. or in the evening. Grandparents may be obliged to collect children from school because their parents are working. When they should be relaxing and enjoying life having reared their own children, such people are rearing their children's children. This is an important issue.

It is ironic that we are debating this issue in the House. Leinster House must be one of the worst examples in this regard, with no child care facilities in the building for staff and Members. Although steps are under way to rectify this, it is appalling that such a situation should pertain in 2005. The life of a politician could not be more unfriendly to the needs of a young family. I am unsure what the solution is. Few young females and parents of young children are entering politics because they are aware of the immense pressures.

Senator O'Meara observed that the sharing of responsibility for this area among seven Ministers is a problem. One Minister with full responsibility for the issue should be appointed as a matter of priority. This will ensure there is a consistent line of responsibility instead of matters being passed between different Departments. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, for example, is responsible for the funding of some crèches. There was a unique situation in Carlow when a crèche was opened by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform only for an announcement to be made some weeks later that its funding had been cut. Although this matter was subsequently resolved, there would be no such problems if one Minister had overall responsibility in this area.

The fees for child care are astounding. As a single male, I am flabbergasted to hear stories of people with two children paying up to €1,500 a month for child care places. This is a significant amount of money, constituting more than an average mortgage. The State must consider the possibility of paying the staff in child care facilities. The option of introducing tax credits holds the potential danger of causing inflation in this area, in which case those parents availing of crèche facilities will be no better off.

The State pays the wages of staff in primary, second and third level education facilities and should do the same for staff in child care facilities. This would bring costs down by ensuring that crèche owners have no excuse for increasing fees. I have spent time in France where I observed the écoles maternelles, which I understand are state-sponsored, for children of two years and above. State payment for staff in child care facilities will help to control costs and will also allow the State to have an input into the quality of child care.

Those earning the minimum wage and on short-term contracts will gain little from this Bill. I understand one must be in employment for 12 months before availing of parental leave. Lone parents on the minimum wage and employees on short-term contracts are those most in need of assistance but will obtain no benefits from the legislation. Its provisions serve to help the middle classes more than the working classes.

Other speakers have commented that the leave is unpaid, an issue which the Minister of State addressed in his speech. It is an issue that must be examined, not necessarily for the benefit of those in a financial position to take unpaid leave but for those employees, such as a lone parent earning the minimum wage, who cannot afford to take time off work. The Minister should address this problem urgently and should focus his energy in this area. It is worth noting that no child benefit is paid in the United States and the maternity leave entitlements are much less generous than in this country. It is good to see that we are already far ahead of that country in this area.

An issue on which the Government must hold its head in shame is the changes introduced in the budget before last relating to benefit-in-kind. Those changes are having an impact in this area. Employers who wish to reward long-serving employees by providing health insurance, a company car or child care benefit, for example, have found their hands tied. This issue must be reconsidered. The Government should not prohibit an employer from acknowledging the role played by an esteemed employee through benefit-in-kind provisions.

This Bill represents a first step. I was interested to hear Senator O'Rourke's comment that it is part of a trio of Bills. Much more must be done and I acknowledge the role played by the EU in this area. If it were left to the State, the measures contained in this Bill would not have been undertaken.