Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Having given the scheme some thought it is clear that following research by the Office of the Minister for Children, the Minister of State is trying to find ways to disqualify middle income families from benefiting from community child care as it stands. These are the families that have created huge revenues for the Government and built our economy. These families find themselves under increasing pressure to pay for mortgages in the current climate, especially those who took out 100% mortgages. The need for leniency for those in the middle income bracket is crucial to allow parents remain in employment. The Government has a responsibility to these families. We do not want this scheme to create a spiral in which parents have to give up work to take care of their children, thereby increasing unemployment figures and reducing the skilled workforce our economy so badly needs to remain competitive.

The economic implications need to be considered carefully. According to the Chambers Ireland labour force 2007 survey people are already making work decisions around child care. Currently, 30% of company employees have reduced their working hours due to child care demands and 50% of all companies have introduced flexible working hours specifically to meet employee child care demands. It is important to proceed with caution if we are not to tip the balance against the attractiveness of work at an uncertain time in our economy.

The proposal has additional social implications. Currently, those who are unmarried and not cohabiting qualify for benefits such as council houses and free child care while working up to three days per week, provided they earn under a certain amount. We do not want to encourage a society in which it is economically preferable to be an unmarried mother living alone rather than married or cohabiting with the support of a father. We should never promote one-unit families or force women into dependence on benefits.