Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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45. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to assist stay at home parents; and her views on whether these parents were not affected positively in the recent budget. [43711/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I am committed to the provision of childcare options for families that respect parental choice and reflect international evidence on how to attain the best outcomes for children.

The Government has provided additional support for parents who choose to care for their children at home by increasing the Home Carer Tax Credit to €1,200 per year in Budget 2018. Previous provisions for maternity benefit, parental leave and the recently introduced paternity leave also demonstrate the Government's commitment to support parents. It should be noted that the Programme for Government commits to extending paid leave for parents in the first year of a child's life, which will be a key financial support enabling parents to care for their children at home in the critical first year. I will be happy to support my Government colleagues in progressing these as funding allows.

My Department provides a number of childcare schemes which are available to all families, both working parents and those who choose to stay at home to care for their children. From September 2018, the ECCE scheme will be available to all children over the age of two years and eight months for two full programme years. 114,000 children are expected to participate in ECCE from September 2018 and many of these will be children of stay at home parents.

Other initiatives will also help. The additional affordability measures, which are now being rolled out across the country, are an important first step in making childcare more accessible for parents who choose to return to training or employment. However, it is important to recognise that these measures, and those that will commence once the Affordable Childcare Scheme (ACS) is introduced, are only one element of a broader set of commitments and supports aimed at parents and children. The provision of improved services for centre-based care is very important, but I will not lose sight of the needs of children who do not attend them. In this regard, Better Outcomes Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People contains a commitment to produce Ireland’s first-ever National Early Years Strategy. The intention is to deliver a cross-cutting strategy which will take a joined-up, whole of Government approach to the issue of supporting children and their families during the early years (0-6 years). The drafting of the National Early Years Strategy is being advanced. An Open Policy Debate was held with key stakeholders last December and this has informed the strategy development greatly. Bilateral meetings with key government departments have taken place. Development of the Strategy remains a priority for me and for my Department, and I will move to publish the Strategy as soon as possible after it is completed.