Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the day on which former Senator Catherine McGuinness will address the House on children's rights I refer to the European Commission's country-specific recommendations for Ireland. There are eight recommendations on which Ireland should act in the period 2014 to 2015. The Commission recommends that Ireland take action in the period 2014 to 2015 to facilitate female labour market participation by improving child care facilities and having more affordable and full-time child care services, particularly for low income families. If we ever listen to the European Union on any issue, we should listen to it on this one, particularly when we hear that management at Tallaght hospital sent an e-mail to all members of staff - the hospital has a huge staff - informing them that the crèche located in a mobile unit which had operated for a number of years would close. I call for a debate on child care provision, particularly workplace crèches. Tallaght hospital would be the ideal place in which to promote this European Commission country-specific recommendation. The chief executive officers of the hospitals, the Minister for Health, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and child care organisations should come together to produce a prototype of a workplace crèche. New buildings are due to be built at Tallaght hospital and it would be an ideal place in which to start implementing this country-specific recommendation for Ireland. Twenty years ago I led the way in proposing, as my first action in the former Dublin County Council, that a crèche be provided in the functional area of South Dublin County Council. The idea was pooh-poohed initially, but I got an architect involved and it was the first local authority in Ireland to have a crèche. Some 20 years later we are still on the back foot waiting for workplace crèches in particular to be provided. We now have a recommendation from the European Commission which I ask the Seanad to take seriously and address. We should lead the way. Tallaght hospital would be a good place in which to start. There are new buildings ready to go and a workplace crèche should be incorporated in them. I suggest it be used as a prototype. There are workplace crèches, but the Government, hospital managements and everybody else should become involved. However, we should lead the way on ithe issue, particularly as we have been given a kick, so to speak, by the European Commission.