Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Once again, child care issues dominate the media. Comments were made following the gender equality conference in Dublin in recent days at which there was severe criticism of the lack of investment in child care facilities nationally and the continuing pressure on those who are referred to as being in the squeezed middle. Vincent Browne had problems with that definition last night on his programme, but the squeezed middle are people who are earning more money than the eligibility cap for the free child care schemes. They must pay heavily. While they are people in jobs with incomes, the financial demands on them mean that many women in particular are having to abandon the workplace and go home as child care costs are too great. It is past time for the Government to look seriously at this and make a significant investment. Liberal references are made to the Scandinavian model. If we as a first line country like to put ourselves out there as what the Taoiseach calls "the best little country in the world to do business", we must consider whether the way we handle child care issues is in any way an attractive option for anyone thinking of coming here, particularly if they are married with children. I ask for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy James Reilly, to come before the House to outline a strategy for the provision and upgrading of child care facilities.
Pobal, which is charged by the Government with administering the child care scheme, has issued a report from which the Irish Independent has derived the blazing headline that there is under-use of child care facilities nationally. This is blatantly incorrect. I am the chairman of the Leitrim County Childcare Committee. We have 35 child care facilities in our county, most of which are funded in one way or another by the Government through Pobal, which has come under criticism for the high rates it is charging the Government to manage the scheme. Pobal is now trying to cover its tail by suggesting there is an under use of child care facilities nationally when we know that people sometimes cannot get their children into crèches. I said that Leitrim has 35 child care services, but the Irish Independentsays there are only nine on the basis of a Pobal survey to which not everybody responded. Pobal then takes its own figures out of it and produces the fantasy that there is only 77% take-up of child care places in my county when the reality is that it is nearly 100%. In my home town, which has a state-of-the-art facility, there is a waiting list. There is all sorts of confusion and obfuscation going on. I would ignore the Pobal figures and urge the Irish Independentto look at bit deeper into what Pobal is saying. The reality is that there is a serious need for increased investment in child care facilities to take the burden off hard-pressed families who are finding it increasingly difficult to place their children in child care.