There is a report in the media again today which addresses the issue of child care costs. With others, I have raised the continuing high cost of providing child care. It is now out in the open again. Another report from a child care provider shows that a majority of parents want an extension of the one year free child care as a matter of urgency. They want direct subsidies or tax credits but would prefer direct payments. We have heard a great deal of talk in this House about the Scandinavian models and another new political grouping last week referred to the Nordic models, yet this all seems to be aspirational. We do not hear about the follow through. It is now agreed that it costs a couple with two children €30,000 a year to provide child care, which is as much as a mortgage payment. Child care costs are now equated with mortgage payments. That shows the seriousness of the issue. Yet again I add my voice to those of many others, inside and outside this House, calling on the Government to act soon in the budget. It must act to address the high cost of child care which is crippling parents. It is not fair in a society that has a developing and improving economy that this issue is not being tackled. Will the Leader use his considerable influence to convey what I believe is the sentiment of all in this House, that child care costs be addressed, meaningfully and effectively, along the lines of the recommendations of the report, particularly in respect of the extension of the extra year’s free child care, and that direct payments be made to parents to help alleviate the already unacceptable financial burden placed on them?

Senator Sean D. Barrett referred to Countess Markievicz as the first woman to be elected to the British Parliament, which she was. She was also the first female Cabinet Minister nominated in Europe, in 1918. In research for a book entitled, Women in Parliament, that I conducted some years back with Maedhbh McNamara, we discovered that Countess Markievicz went to de Valera as President of the Executive Council and said that if he did not make her a Minister, she would join the Labour Party. I am not sure what the reasons for this were.

On that note, I will proceed. I add my voice to the good wishes to our golfer Paul Dunne. Senator Eamonn Coghlan admitted that he did not know much about him and neither did I until this week. It is fantastic that somebody has come up through the ranks. The president of his club in Wicklow was speaking on radio this morning and described him as the boy wonder. I hope that will prove to be the case today.

Despite all the joviality around the issue of seagulls, to which Senator Denis O'Donovan referred, I heard a piece on radio this morning about it. I have a Jack Russell at home and hope to God the seagulls do not get him because apparently they have killed terriers across England already.

I raise the issue of funding that was provided last week by the Government for improved road maintenance, public transport, rail stock, rail safety and bus fleets. Also included in that allocation was funding towards community and local improvement schemes which are administered at local authority level. They have been the bane of local councillors for many years because they have been absolutely starved of funding. I am delighted that this round now allows for 10% of maintenance money to be allocated to the local improvement schemes and for 20% to be allocated to the community improvement schemes. This will mean that small improvements which will have a big effect on people's lives, particularly for those who are living on private and public lanes on which the councils are unable to carry out work. With support from the residents and co-operation from the local authorities, these works will be carried out, which is good news for local councillors who are working on the issue.