As the Tánaiste is aware, one of the many costs facing families is child care. Many choose to have au pairs to help them in that regard, normally as part of a cultural exchange. There are up to 20,000 au pairs in Ireland and some Deputies have undoubtedly used them at some point. Most au pairs have a great experience in the six to 12 months that they spend in this country, but there is no regulation or legal definition of au pairs. This allows them to be open to exploitation, which is condemned by all sides of the House.

There have been a series of Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, rulings in the past 12 months. As reported in today's newspapers, it found as recently as yesterday that €2,300 had to be paid to an au pair who had not been paid the minimum wage or for three Sundays. Last June, Fianna Fáil introduced a Bill, which the Government decided not to support for various reasons, to discuss the definition of "au pair" and bring legal clarity to same.

Families up and down the country are reading newspapers today to see how the situation is being addressed, but it is not. Instead, we have pushed the issue out further, leaving people wondering about the definition. We must now decide whether we want to support the 20,000 families and press for the board and lodgings rate of €54 per week. The Minister of State, Deputy Breen, has considered whether this matter should be reviewed, but where is that review? The situation has not been reviewed in 15 years. According to the Minister of State, the 20,000 families would benefit from a review, given that they would then fall under the minimum wage criteria.

Why is the Government allowing these anomalies to continue and why is it prepared to dismiss the concerns of families that depend on au pairs? Does the Government believe that the au pair programme is worth maintaining? Apparently, the Minister of State requested the Low Pay Commission to review the board and lodgings rate last September, but nothing has been heard since. When will the review be completed and when will families with au pairs have clarity on the matter?

What about the au pairs themselves?

I thank the Deputy for observing the time. I am anxious that Members would keep to the three minutes. The Tánaiste has three minutes.

I recognise Deputy Rabbitte's interest in the issue of au pairs who are working with families in this country. As she appreciates, the approach of the Government to child care generally is to extend the schemes that are available, to ensure a far wider number of families benefit from the child care subsidies that are available and to introduce a second ECCE year. There was agreement in the budget that more money would be provided for child care in order to extend the programmes, as the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, announced.

There is a history in this country of informal child care. In terms of access for funding for child care schemes, the Government has asked that childminders would register with county child care committees. They have, and continue for the most part, to operate in an informal and unregulated manner. We would like to see more registration because it is a support both for the families and the childminders who are providing the service. I believe it is in that context that the debate and discussion on au pairs has to be seen.

I welcome the recent ruling to which Deputy Rabbitte referred, and also the fact that the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Breen, ordered a review some months ago. We await its outcome. It is clear there is huge potential for exploitation and we must be very clear what precisely families are asking au pairs to do. The Deputy cited instances where au pairs have been asked to do far more than they originally expected. We will await the review to see precisely what kind of approach is best. In the broader context that I have outlined, we have seen a lot of informal arrangements and they predominate among families who choose childminders. We want to move from that so that we have standards and regulation but the question is how far one goes with regulation. The au pair situation is a classic example of that. Many families will want to continue with more informal arrangements but clearly we need to have good guidelines and the review will examine whether they should be statutory.

The au pair system has traditionally, and should continue to be seen, as an educational and cultural opportunity for the person visiting, as opposed to a replacement for child care. We do not want to move in that direction where employing somebody on a more casual basis or asking them to be part of one's family is seen in some way as a substitute for child care. A working group on childminders is examining the entire question of registration and how that can be accelerated and we await the report on the au pair situation that the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, has commissioned.

I thank the Tánaiste for her comments. No side of the House condones any form of exploitation but what the Tánaiste said does not address what is a very serious issue. Families who use au pairs need more than just platitudes at this stage. They need to know how long the Low Pay Commission will take in reviewing this area given all the other issues it must consider. Given that there has not been an increase to the board and lodgings allowance for au pairs since 2002, surely there is a reason to urgently review the rates of au pairs if they are allowed to continue to be covered under the National Minimum Wage Act?

Some people require flexibility or someone to stay in their home, for example, a nurse or garda. We must allow shift workers to have child care solutions that work for them. Parents must have a choice in terms of child care. We cannot remove all the choice that is currently available. The Government's inaction is encouraging more au pair activity into the black market and it is being forced to go underground.

We await the Low Pay Commission's review on board and lodgings. I agree with Deputy Rabbitte that it is time to review the rate paid to au pairs. There is no question about that. We await the report to see precisely what the recommendations will be. Extending the availability of affordable, accessible child care remains a priority for the Government.

Yesterday, I held a consultation on the new national women's strategy attended by 150 women. The question of further financial support for parents who are trying to access child care came up again and again so it remains a priority. The Deputy can see the increased funding in the budget from the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to extend child care. The regulation and approach to au pair services must be seen in that context.