Mr. Cullinane might come back to me about that because it is an important aspect of companies from outside the EU that operate within it. The figures for women's participation in the work force are interesting. Is there a breakdown? It is interesting to see that it is stated that by 2018 we will have reached our full potential in terms of participation in the work force and there will not be any new entrants, with the trend similar to other European countries with the fall in population with people not having as many children as they did in the past. This is worrying. At present there is a solution in that the work force is supplemented by workers from outside the State.
The report recommends that Ireland increase access to active labour market measures for a larger share of the unemployed and inactive population and ensure their effectiveness. To a great extent that includes those on community employment schemes doing the job that the State did until now and now we are removing all of this.
I note what was said about structure instead of increasing numbers. That worries me because most of us would want increasing numbers. There should be an increase in the supply and affordability of child care facilities and urgent action should be taken to tackle the cause of the gender pay gap. If we want people to have more children, it is self evident that better, affordable and accessible child care should be provided, and not have young women having to give up work because they could not afford to pay the child minder. We cannot encourage more women into the work force when there is no one to mind their children.
Equal pay legislation was first enacted in 1974 but women are still paid less. We have introduced a minimum wage and it should not be beyond our wit to insist that women are paid the same wage for the same work. It appears that the minimum wage gathered everyone in the net but the gender pay gap only affects women and as a result we can continually postpone dealing with it. I do not see why we have to ask for further action to tackle that. It should have been tackled long ago.
I am worried that Ireland is coming from such a low base when it comes to the life-long learning strategy to reduce early school leaving in all of these areas. Even Spain, which was until recently considered the poor relation in Europe, is streets ahead when it comes to education, child care facilities and community support. This is a broad and vague recommendation at a time when we are so far down the list and are coming from such a low base. I am surprised the other EU countries did not insist on a firmer recommendation. If we are talking about equal pay and the Tánaiste is boasting that the PDs introduced the minimum wage effectively within a year, why can women not have pay parity? It could be done overnight.
I do not understand why these recommendations are so vague. The report in October will be more specific but we should more proactive. When I meet people from other EU countries, I will ask them to put pressure on the Government because it appears that there is no great urgency about introducing measures to ensure the economy and society continue to grow. A national child minder's initiative was introduced recently as part of the programme. It provides child minder's development grants and continuing support for information, networking and training opportunities.
As part of the broader strategy for the development of child care under Sustaining Progress each county child care committee will identify local needs for child care and the current national child care strategy will be augmented by development of a further stream to achieve the objectives of making child care affordable for working parents. FÁS will continue to ring-fence child care places under the community employment schemes and to implement traineeships in child care at both work-ready and higher levels.
There is a lot happening, though we realise that more needs to be done. Initiatives have also been taken in the Civil Service. The Government has allocated €12.7 million in capital expenditure to provide for up to 15 Civil Service crèches. IDA Ireland has identified six of its existing business parks in which to develop child care facilities. FÁS is also operating at present a pilot child care allowance scheme. Its objective is to facilitate more people, particularly women, who wish to take up employment in the mainstream economy.
The scheme is modelled on the child care allowance being provided by the Department of Education and Science under respective VTOS, Youthreach and other return to education programmes. It is a pilot and is currently under review. Thus, a lot is being done at the moment as regards child care but we recognise that more must be done.
When talking about the gender pay gap we must draw a distinction between an equal pay and gender pay gap. They are not the same thing at all.