Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I am always interested in Senator van Turnhout's contributions because of her own expertise in this area. We discussed this matter briefly and I was waiting for her and, perhaps, she intends to do it at a later stage. The Minister has emphasised that the reason the section is being introduced is to bring us into line with European countries. However, at the same time the Minister has tacitly acknowledged publicly the need to also provide enhanced support services for lone parents in the area of child care. The comparisons are not valid.

In all of the contributions she has made so far, where she has emphasised the practice in named countries, what is missing from the debate is the type, status and quality of child care being provided in those countries compared with Ireland. In a number of these countries, particularly in Scandinavian, France and Germany, there is a culture of high taxation. In paying high taxes, people expect the state to provide state-of-the-art services to them. We do not have that culture here. The problem is that successive Governments have adopted a low taxation culture. Figures published last week indicate that even though the amount taken out of the economy since 2008 is staggering, under the previous Administration the amount was about €24 billion, and up to 2014 there will be further adjustment of €9 billion to €10 billion, in order to reach our deficit targets. We are still paying below the European average. In light of all the Minister has said, and nobody doubts her bona fides in this regard, I am confident that measures will be introduced by the Minister and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, in the next budget in regard to enhancing child care. It would be helpful if the Minister were to acknowledge that Ireland, even though an impressive architecture has been put in place in the past 15 years, still lags behind in certain areas in respect of the European models being put forward. In reducing the payments on the lines being proposed for Ireland, those governments would argue that they have a far better child care service.

Senator Bacik may consider there is capacity in the system. The most recent figures published by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in respect of the capital programme scheme showed that the applications far exceed the amount of money available. The cap being placed on those capital projects if €50,000. As chair of Leitrim Child Care, we have on our books €2 million to €2.5 million funding applications for capital projects for the provision of permanent child care in County Leitrim, which has the smallest population in the country. The Senator is very persuasive and I have always been impressed by the manner in which she put forwards persuasive arguments but sometimes she lets things slide through.