Margaret Cox (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:

"notes:

—the considerable progress which has been made in increasing the availability of quality and affordable child care places across the country through the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme and other Government initiatives;

—the provision of an additional 38,500 new child care places, 26,000 of which are already in place, as a result of funding allocated to date under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme;

—the very significant increase in child benefit which is available to all parents of children under 16, and children under 19 if they are in full time education, which affords choices to parents in relation to the care of their children;

—the fourfold increase since 1997 in child benefit expenditure from €506 million to over €1.9 billion;

—the staffing grant assistance which is provided under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme which aims to ensure that these grants target community-based not for profit groups which serve families who are disadvantaged;

recent reports on child care policy, notably by the National Women's Council of Ireland, NWCI, and the National Economic and Social Forum, NESF;

and endorses this Government's ongoing commitment to:

—the development of quality affordable child care to support parents in employment, education and training through the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme and its eventual successor programme;

—the provision of considerable current funding support towards the staffing costs of child care services which support disadvantaged parents;

—the provision of early education opportunities for disadvantaged children through the Early Start and other initiatives under the direction of the Minister for Education and Science;

—the development of quality early education opportunities for children; and

—the use of child benefit as an equitable way of giving support to parents towards the cost of rearing and caring for their children, irrespective of the mothers' employment status."

I am somewhat taken aback by the benign manner in which the Independent Senators have addressed this debate. I have been a Member of this House since 1997 and am completely frustrated by the lack of progress on this issue. I am frustrated by our apparent incapacity to come up with solutions that deal with it. Undoubtedly, we have made progress and the amendment outlines it in terms of the money which has been spent on child benefit and the additional spaces provided, which are important. However, we have not moved realistically to deal with the issues which have been continually discussed in this House.

I have reviewed my contributions to the House on this issue since 1999, which was the first time I spoke on it. I am disappointed that more has not been achieved. We do not have any Government initiatives to support small businesses and have not implemented real incentives to allow jobsharing or reduced working hours for mothers and fathers. We do not have paid parental leave. We finally extended maternity leave last year to 18 weeks paid leave. However, I understand that the top rate is just over €200 per week. That is nothing for anyone with any kind of a job, who has a mortgage to pay. One's mortgage and car payments do not go away when one has a baby. One is obliged to buy equipment like buggies and prams while one is on reduced earnings unless one is lucky enough to work in a company where one's salary is covered or in the public service.

As my time is short, I wish to move on. As the Minister is undoubtedly aware, Ireland spends less than 0.2% of GDP on child care. The OECD average is 0.4% and the United Kingdom is moving towards 0.8% on foot of recent initiatives. Sweden and Denmark pay 2% to 2.5%. These figures refer to governmental spending. On the cost to a family, the quarterly national household survey showed that, of 59,000 families whose principal arrangements for minding their children during normal working hours involved paid child care, the average amount paid was €97.50 per week in the last quarter of 2002. The rate per hour is significantly more expensive in Dublin than other areas. For Dublin pre-school children, the rate was €4.09 per hour and for school-going children it was €5.47 while it was €3.25 and €5.40, respectively, in the rest of the country.

As I have said time and time again, there are simple actions we could take. A significant number of people in this country employ child minders. They pay out of taxed incomes and do not receive recognition of this in the tax system. I gave an example to the former Minister for Finance, Mr. Charlie McCreevy, and other Ministers previously that, if I fall on a golf course and break my toe and it costs €10,000 to get it treated, I can claim that against tax. If I pay €20,000 to a child minder out of my net income, I cannot get any of it back through the taxation system. This is wrong and we can change it immediately. We are employing people, deducting tax and sending it to the Revenue Commissioners. Is there any justice in employer's PRSI of 10.75% paid on a salary of €20,000 or €22,000 after having already paid 40% on it? Why have we not done something about this matter? This is not the first time I have discussed this issue.

We slap our backs about how many child care places we have supplied, which are marvellous, but what about the increasing numbers of women going to work and having children? I have four children, which means I need four child care places. While the number of places is growing, we will need over 80,000 child care places for children aged less than five years according to figures notified to the Department of Health and Children in 2004. It is of no use to say we are doing brilliantly and providing many places. It is not enough. I could tell a person who had broken a leg that, while it was sad, both legs could have been broken but this would not make me feel much better. We need to tackle this issue urgently.

We could examine what has been done in the United Kingdom over the past two years. I will cite a report entitled Early Years: Progress in Developing High Quality Childcare and Early Education Accessible To All. A nursing grant, not based on income, is paid for all four year old children and, since April 2004, this is paid for all three year olds after the child's third birthday — a maximum of £407 per term. A working tax credit replaced the working families tax credit in April 2003. Through this, up to 70% of eligible child care costs and up to a maximum of £135 for one child and £200 per week for two or more children can be claimed. This is based on incomes and is given to lone parents over 16 years of age with dependent children, couples over 16 years of age, either with both of them working at least 16 hours per week or one working at least 16 hours and the other receiving disability benefit or being in hospital or prison. It is payable up to first September after the child's 15th birthday or 16th birthday if the child is disabled. There is the child tax credit, in which the family and baby elements are each £545 per year. The child element is £1,445 and the disability element is £2,155. This credit is paid to the main carer, is based on family incomes and is available to households with at least one dependent child under 16 years or one dependent young person under 19 in full-time education. In the so-called new deal for lone parents, a maximum of £135 per week for one child or £200 per week for two or more children is paid.

These are the types of initiatives we could put into place. We have discussed this issue since I became a Member of the House in 1997 but suddenly found a bright renewal of the subject during the by-elections in counties Meath and Kildare. What were we doing beforehand? Were our heads in the sand or did anyone listen? Where were the children and what was happening to them? The Minister probably did not formulate this amendment and I do not know who did but it does not refer to children at all. This is a disgrace. What is a child policy if it is not focused on the good of children? I am ashamed of this amendment but am proposing it, as that is what one does when one is a member of the Government party.