Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I agree with everything Senator Mansergh said. Fortune magazine carried out a survey of people working in New York, in which large number of highly-paid professionals were asked about their daytime concerns. The magazine was seeking business information but was astonished to find that the major concern of young professionals in New York is who is minding the children. Even for extremely well paid young professionals, the whole area of child care, the pressures of work, leaving home at 6.30 a.m. or 7 a.m., getting home at 6.30 p.m. or 7 p.m., seeing children asleep when one is leaving home and seeing them going to bed when one is coming home, create pressures in addition to financial ones.

We have failed to deal with the issue. I am fascinated that apparently we are now to use the resources of the State to deal with the matter. I support publicly funded child care facilities, as does my party. Given that employers do not employ people unless they are making money, which is a perfectly reasonable expectation, I am intrigued that employers who benefit from the fact that young couples work do not have some obligation to participate in the provision of the necessary supports for the families of their employees and that we have walked away from the whole idea of employer responsibility. I have no problem with the recommendation but the whole issue of families and children requires so many different adjustments in our society. It requires funding for child care and a fundamental change in the law to allow much greater flexibility for parenting, including parental leave both in terms of financial support and duration for both parents.

This is a significant issue which will cost a lot of money. There is no cheap way of providing child care; there are only options of how to pay for it. I would be unhappy if the bulk of the payment were to come from the existing revenue of the State by way of a reduction in income tax. There are other ways to deal with the matter. If partnership means anything, employers who benefit from low taxes, low social insurance and a number of other very generous provisions must accept that they also have a responsibility.