Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I acknowledge the capital investment made by the Government in community crèches. Ten years ago, child care facilities were non-existent. We have come a long way. I would like to extend the current facilities. However, the tiered fee structure the Minister has instructed community and not-for-profit facilities to implement is socially backward and should be reconsidered. The new scheme assumes parents who are not in receipt of social welfare payments can afford higher child care costs but that is not the case. With several interest rate increases in the past year, families are put to the pin of their collars in trying to make ends meet, never mind paying child care costs equivalent to the private sector.

A rural village in County Westmeath which provides an excellent before and after school service costs €100,000 annually to operate, including staff costs. Approximately 20 families use the service on a daily basis and another 15 use it on a drop-in basis. To continue under the new scheme, this wonderful facility will have to charge €9 per hour, which is a lot more than some parents are earning. Parents in the area face the prospect of quitting their employments, cutting their hours or reverting to having locals look after their children because they will be unable to afford the service. The implementation of the scheme will encourage latch key children, with some parents reporting their children will have to wait an hour or more at home for them to return from work. It is also a serious disincentive for parents on social welfare to enter the workforce. Children will be boxed in when their families are told they are disadvantaged. There will be little or no social mixing because subvention will be available only to those in receipt of social welfare and family income supplements. Sadly, parents on social welfare are less likely to use child minding services because they have less need of them other than for the social, educational and developmental purposes.

If this scheme is introduced, there will be no access or equality and parents will feel disenfranchised, which contradicts social inclusion and equality. The Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science stated last week that he will collate and analyse the data he received from parents throughout the country. I understand he also undertook to change the income threshold for families on low and middle incomes in rural and under-populated areas. These are the people who are completely reliant on not-for-profit community child care services. He also stated, "It is recognised that there may be particular issues for smaller scale services, but they will be considered when the data due to be returned this month are analysed." I hope the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party is also behind this initiative.

Last week I attended a meeting convened by the Mayor of Longford County Council, Peggy Nolan, at which Councillor Alan Mitchell proposed a resolution that was unanimously passed by all members of the council and supported by all Oireachtas Members from Longford-Westmeath. The resolution proposed postponing the current proposals in order that the Department could engage in open consultation with child care providers and parents, maintaining the current level of funding pending the completion of an analysis of the data, introducing a system of long-term guaranteed core funding for the administration of community child care facilities, and providing staffing grants to community child care facilities in addition to funding provided under the subvention scheme. It was also proposed that the Minister would introduce a system in which each child, irrespective of parental income or family circumstances, is entitled to a capitation grant for attendance at a quality child care facility which is community or privately operated, thereby ensuring all our children are treated equally and given equal educational opportunities by the State.