Shane Ross (Independent)

I thank Senators and the Minister for contributing to this debate, which was useful even if it did not elicit a great deal of information from the Minister about the Government's intentions for child care in the budget. We did not expect that anyway.

One of the important matters to emerge in this debate is that this is not necessarily a problem about money. Money helps and we have plenty of it. If it was a problem over money, it could be easily resolved. I was struck by the extraordinary balance about the interests of the stay at home parent and the parent who goes to work. Both groups have extremely noble and good motives for doing what they are doing. However, they both have extraordinary problems as a direct result of our economic prosperity. We must ensure any measures taken do not turn them into rival camps.

In the next budget, both groups could be partly satisfied by a programme of measures that recognised the extraordinary valuable role they both play. This debate is about values. We need the parent who stays in the home and the parent who goes to work. I am referring coyly to mothers rather than fathers in this case. The economy desperately needs the skills of those mothers who are going to work in their droves. As Senator Henry eloquently said, at one stage of her life she was actually paying out all her salary on child care. This is absurd and makes a nonsense of the medical skills which Senator Henry acquired at some expense to herself and to the State. We must satisfy that side of the equation.

We must also applaud the tremendous role and the sacrifices made by those highly educated people who have decided they will not use their particular skills and join the workforce. This is either because they cannot afford child care or they consider looking after their children an even more important calling. This must be recognised in a tangible form, which means money. I noticed in The Irish Times that the Government is considering a 30% rise in child benefit. This is not half enough. It should be a 100% rise. We are talking about recognising values. This must be done for the stay at home parent. I will address from where the money will come another day. In the next budget, we must satisfy the aspirations——