Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

It means that women are managing to go to work; they are not trapped at home because of this terrible Government. The number of women in full-time employment has increased by 32% and the number of women in part-time employment has increased by 33%. Women are making a massive contribution and childminding facilities are available. I accept there are too few of these facilities and perhaps they are not the right type in many cases. The document interestingly suggested that the total number of women who considered themselves underemployed had declined from 13,000 in 1997 to 1,900 in 2002. That suggests that maybe more women are leaning towards part-time employment. One can be in no doubt about this if the financial aspects are considered. I examined this issue with a young lady who has left full-time employment for part-time employment. She told me her joint salary with her husband fell by €300 by virtue of going half-time but that her child care costs were reduced from €1,100 to €730. This constitutes a net gain of €70 and carries with it the benefit of an additional two and a half days with her child per week. A part-time scenario can be equally as beneficial to women. I welcome the manner in which the Government is addressing this issue and I acknowledge Senator O'Meara's statement on how far there is left to go. However, we are going in the right direction.