Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom fíorfháilte a chur roimh an Seanadóir Hildegarde Naughton. Bhí sé ar intinn agam na focail breátha a chuala muid ón Seanadóir Leyden a rá. Gabhaim míle buíochas leis. Tá súil agam go mbeidh focail fíordheasa le rá ag Sinn Féin, go mórmhór an Seanadóir Ó Clochartaigh, a thagann as Gaillimh cosúil liom féin. Tá mé i mo cónaí i mBaile Átha Cliath anois. Cuirim fáilte romhat, a Hildegarde.

I wish to talk today about child care because of a report that has been issued. It is really a continuation of the ESRI's report. It is a very valuable report on which work has been ongoing for six years. The second tranche of the report, the ESRI report, has demonstrated that qualifications in centre-based child care are relatively low. I compliment the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, because she announced last month that she is taking steps to intervene in this regard to ensure qualifications will be enhanced. Today, I ask for a pre-budget debate on child care because it will be too late to have it after the budget. Obviously, we cannot do anything without money. Money speaks but one does not need money to do everything. The Minister has demonstrated that in her innovative ideas since she entered office. According to the ERSI's findings, women more privileged in terms of income and education were more likely to take additional unpaid leave after their children were born. The Minister is implementing a targeted early-intervention programme for the disadvantaged. We have found out that 14% of children who end up in care do so because of family drug problems. Therefore, the whole family support system, and not just child care, must be debated before the budget.