Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Power, to the House. He is representing his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Brendan Smith, who has responsibility for children with regard to the proposed changes in child care. I emphasise these are proposed changes and the time for consultation is now. The proposal is to be implemented in June 2008, which provides an opportunity for all stakeholders to have an input into the shape of future child care facilities. That is welcome.

My colleague, Senator Mary White, is our spokesperson on child care and she has taken a deep interest in the issue. Long before she became spokesperson she brought out a document, A New Approach To Child Care. I commend her on it because while many people recently woke up to the question of child care she was ahead of the posse and wrote a very good document.

The previous programme on equal opportunities child care which ran from 2000 to 2006 was of great benefit to parents across the board. It was a free structure which meant those most disadvantaged benefited most. The interesting aspect of this debate on child care is that we have become accustomed to the fact that we have completely free first-class primary education.