Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

When Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats entered Government in 1997, its first act was to establish the expert working group on child care. Its extensive report was the basis of the National Development Plan 2000-2006, which I am determined to implement and, more than that, surpass while I have ministerial responsibility in this matter.

The equal opportunities child care programme has an economic focus and a social inclusion focus. It helps to make available, at local level, centre-based child care at either break-even cost or subsidised cost, depending on family circumstances, to support the significantly increased numbers of women now in the labour market. Another amazing aspect of the success of the Government is that hundreds of thousands of women have been enabled to join the labour market in circumstances that did not apply in the past.