Ivana Bacik (Independent)

This is nothing less than a fiasco. Reading between the lines of the Minister of State's speech, he acknowledged that there are genuine concerns among parents and child care providers in the real world about the effect of the Government's proposed scheme. The Government's announcement has caused grave concern for large numbers of parents and child care providers and has thrown them into a panic because of the clumsy and inadequate way in which it has been introduced, and due to the piecemeal method in which child care generally is dealt with by this Government. The Government has been in power for ten years, yet in all that time we have never had a fully thought out, comprehensive child care policy. This subvention scheme merely targets the most disadvantaged parents. A mother wrote to Senator Frances Fitzgerald and others expressing her distress at this policy. There are many parents like her who are in low-paid work and simply cannot afford child care without State subventions, but this scheme does nothing to address their fears. The cost of private child care in Dublin is €200 to €250 per child per week from net income. The Minister said the proposal provides for a net income threshold of €550 per week for a family with two children, but that would only cover the cost of two children in a crèche.