Seán Ryan
Ceist:200 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Finance the proposals, if any, he has to finance in part or in full the cost of tax relief on child care. [3587/99]
Vol. 500 No. 1
200 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Finance the proposals, if any, he has to finance in part or in full the cost of tax relief on child care. [3587/99]
As I stated in my December Budget Statement the Government is conscious of the growing wish for a recognition of child care needs in the tax system. I took the opportunity in the Budget Statement to outline a number of the important and complex issues that the question of child care tax relief raises.
The first of these issues is the question of equity between parents who stay at home to care for children and those who have to meet additional child care expenses when they go out to work. There is also the need for a balanced treatment of those who are in the tax system and those who rely on social welfare benefits and for finding the right balance between neasures to help towards the cost of child care and measures to improve the supply and quality of child care facilities to meet the growing demand.