I am glad to have the opportunity to discuss this issue of extreme public importance. Like other Deputies I received many letters on the issue of child care. I have a personal as well as a political interest in this matter. As the father of a one-and-half-year-old with a second child to follow at the end of this week I can testify that the claims made by parents in relation to this matter are not at all exaggerated. There is now widespread frustration and even anger at the lack of a coherent response from the Government on the question of child care.
The situation which was previously unacceptable has now reached crisis proportions because of the implementation of the 1996 child care regulations. This has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of children permitted in crèches and Montessori schools while fees have increased sometimes by 30 to 40 per cent in order to make up for the shortfall. To put it simply, the supply of child care services is diminishing while demand has increased rapidly. NoMember objects to higher standards, but the short and medium-term consequences of the implementation of the child care regulations should have been foreseen and, perhaps, the crisis could have been averted.
The failure to recognise the impending crisis should not, however, deter the Minister from taking immediate action to prevent an even worse situation. I am suggesting the provision of a once-off capital grant for pre-school service providers to enable them to comply with the regulations. I want the Minister of State to address this directly in his reply and to recognise that this is not a waste of money. Investment in child care is vital if we are to have a properly functioning society.
The above measure will be simply a stop-gap. What is required is the sort of child care policy that is taken for granted in other EU states. In Finland all child care is subsidised and regulated by the state. Some 82 per cent of mothers of children between the ages of seven and 12 work outside the home. In Ireland the figure is 36.6 per cent. Finland gives mothers nearly a year of paid maternity leave plus a further two years' optional parental leave after which they can go back to their jobs at the same level as when they left. We have no comparable policy in Ireland, because when it comes to child care Ireland is still living in the dark ages.
The Green Party has called for the introduction of a national strategy on the provision of child care. This Government, and previous administrations, failed to plan and provide for the child care which is so necessary in our rapidly changing society. The Green Party is recommending that only one Department should be in charge of child care and that it should not only inspect the physical surroundings but also take into account the well-being and development of the children in child care services. This would at least be a means of getting action from the Government in solving this crisis. It would also have avoided the current difficulties, where the planning laws have increased prices and reduced the number of child care places, without other Departments having to take action to counteract the problems caused by these changes.
The current position forces many childminders and parents to operate outside the regulations, and much child care takes place in the black market or with the crucial help of friends and family. This leaves many children sometimes in the care of unqualified and untrained minders in an environment that cannot be inspected. The desperate need for someone to mind one's children leads to desperate measures being taken.
The Green Party is also calling for a network of child care bureaux to be set up locally to oversee the implementation of a national child care policy and to ensure that local child care facilities are properly resourced, represented and co-ordinated. By decentralising the everyday running of child care to the local level, it can be tailored to suit local needs. The management boards of such bureaux would comprise representatives from the local community with emphasis on the participation of parents and child care providers.
In the short-term, the Green Party recommends that the cost of day care should be tax deductible, and child care should be subsidised for those parents who do not qualify for tax deductions. In the medium to long-term the Green Party recommends the phased introduction of a guaranteed basic income for adults. With basic incomes valid work such as parenting and caring, which at present is not given an economic value, would be given equal status with traditional paid work outside the home.
The Green Party recommends tax incentives and supports for businesses which provide a play area or a children's section and for companies and institutions to provide in-house child care so that parents can visit children easily during the day.
There are examples throughout Europe of how child care can and does work to suit both parents and children without costing individual parents a fortune. The calls by industry to increase the number of women in the workforce to fill the skills shortage can go ahead only when women and men feel there is an adequate and safe place for their children to stay while they are working away from home. We have had three reports on this issue and now it is time for action.
