Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I second the motion and welcome the Minister to the House. I am pleased to see my colleague Senator Ross joining the great and the good and supporting extended public services. It is always good to see. I thank the Minister for taking a personal interest in the matter, but he might indicate if he has had the time to read the amendment to the motion. I am prepared to try to convince my colleague Senator Ross to accept the amendment as an addendum to the existing motion so that all Members can work together to resolve an issue on which there should not be division. There is nothing wrong with the amendment, except that it notes and acknowledges the progress made. No Member would deny that. We are prepared to accept it as part of the motion if the Minister accepts the set of proposals we have tabled.

I agree with my colleague Senator Ross about this issue's importance. All Members can confirm what they hear on the ground concerning it in terms of the number of people who cannot afford child care or whose bills and invoices demonstrate that their child care costs are greater than their mortgage repayments. This is a common occurrence at present. I will put six points to the Minister which I will then develop. The first point, which arises all the time is that one Minister and one Department should be the prime movers in respect of this issue and should deal with this area. I also know the Minister's views on this matter. The idea whereby responsibility moves between the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Health and Children and Education and Science, with one playing against another, does not work. The Minister has informed me, both publically and privately, that he does not have a problem with this step, which would simplify matters.

Second, I want to see maternity leave increased to 26 weeks in the budget. I have asked for this before and it is in line with what is happening throughout Europe. We can afford to and should do so. The third point is that we do not have paid parental leave. Senator Cox shares my views on this subject. I am sure she will vote with this side of the House by supporting our motion. There should be paid parental leave for 26 weeks.

Fourth, there should be universal access for all three year olds. It is interesting to note that the OECD report makes great play of the solid level of support in Ireland for four to six year olds. The reason that Ireland differs from many other countries in this respect is that the Irish primary school system begins at four years of age. This is despite the attempt of a previous Government in 1981 to eliminate universal access to primary schools for four year olds. We are now reaping the benefit of its maintenance. However, it is only one aspect of a wide issue, namely, the kindergarten area of primary schools. Universal access and a free place for all three year olds must be considered.

I wish to develop the theme of the importance of choice. It is important to provide various places for children, such as learning environments and play groups. Some would be structured and others would be informal. While I will return to this point, one important feature should underpin any choices available to parents, namely, that whoever supplies the service should be accredited in some way by an accreditation body. This does not mean that everyone is obliged to have the same accreditation. It could be a teacher, a child care worker, someone in charge of a play group or a child minder in some cases. However, in general there must be some system of recognition for anything that is done on a commercial basis. Everyone will agree that this would provide reassurance to those who must make choices for their children. The final issue is to recognise that parents who are not in the workplace outside of the home must also be catered for. A balance must be found and I ask the Minister to consider it.

The amendment refers to the fact that a number of reports have been published in recent months. The National Economic and Social Forum report has been examined and teased out. The National Women's Council has carried out and delivered a report which takes a structured approach to the needs of children from birth to 12 months, from one year to three years and from three to six years. The report has been delivered in a pointed, focussed and helpful manner. Work has also been carried out by the Irish Childcare Policy Network, which is a combination of an enormous number of groups.

It is important to recognise the diversity of the groups involved in the network because I remember having a long argument about this issue approximately four years ago with the former Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, when I was still president of ICTU. He told me that if I could secure the agreement of all the interest groups on one set of proposals, he would give serious consideration to its implementation. He stated that while he would make money available in such circumstances, he would not again be caught in the position of introducing a measure which would be welcomed silently by many people and severely criticised by those few who disagreed with it. He told me that if I could achieve a consensus view on the matter, he would be prepared to move forward. That was Mr. McCreevy's sincere view. He stated that he was unable to find the line that met everyone's needs. Subsequently, there has been a convergence of views regarding these issues as can be seen from the Irish Childcare Policy Network's proposals, which are also a condensed and focused set of policies. Similarly, the centre for early childhood development and education's report has just become available to the Government.

I make this point because we do not need a further report or further consideration. We need structures of Government policy to be implemented. Such a policy should be informed by choice and by quality in terms of accreditation. It should provide universal access, should apply to parents at different levels and should be seriously funded by the Government in the forthcoming budget. I ask the Minister to hammer the Cabinet table — he will enjoy doing so and his colleagues will listen to him — for the children of Ireland. The children will not vote next year but they will do so sometime. The Minister who delivers these proposals will leave a fair legacy for the future. I ask that this be done and that we will see direct support, new access and appropriate tax adjustments in the budget so the needs of all are met.

As I do not have time to expand my themes further, I wish to reiterate six simple points. There should be one Minister and one Department with responsibility for child care. Paid maternity leave should be extended to 26 weeks as should paid parental leave. Universal access for all three year olds should be provided as should an accreditation system to ensure quality within the system of provision, be it community, qualified people or otherwise. We should consider the needs of parents at home. I ask the Minister to respond in a positive, generous and open-minded way in this matter and look forward to him doing so.