Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald has blamed mistreatment of children at a number of creches on 
overinvestment of public resources in Child Benefit payments and therefore underinvestment in crèches.
Speaking in the Seanad yesterday, she said that direct cash payments to parents, rather than investment in services, had led to the breaches in childcare standards revealed by a Prime Time report this week.
In December of last year, Ms Fitzgerald suggested replacing Child Benefit payments with a universal system of childcare, and earlier this month, Education Minister Ruiari Quinn suggested cutting the direct payment to pay for more childcare places.
Ms Fitzgerald said low investment in early education meant Ireland lagged behind many other developed countries when it came to the early-years sector and had much ground to make up.
“On Tuesday night we saw elements of that legacy starkly exposed,’’ she added.
They saw what happened when there was a failure to invest in building an effective system and culture of quality-focused, child-centred service provision and when there was no investment in robust oversight and inspection.
Terry Leyden (FF) said the Minister must feel somewhat embarrassed that she was relying on Prime Time to find out what was happening in creches.
“If I was the Minister, I would be appalled by what was exposed and shocked that lack of action by the Department and the HSE and inspections allowed this to happen,’’ he added.
Mr Leyden said the way to resolve the issue would be to have CCTV systems in every creche.
Imelda Henry (FG) said she was a parent who used creche facilities in the past.
“It is important that the staff employed in creches have the necessary qualifications to work in them, but, most important, parents have an obligation, when they hand over their children, to ask questions and know what is going on,’’ Ms Henry added.
She recalled taking the Minister to a fantastic creche in Sligo last year, but she had been told yesterday that no parent had ever asked for an inspection report. She found that worrying.
Earlier this month, Education Minister Ruiari Quinn caused consternation in the Coalition by raising the prospect of cutting Child Benefit to pay for more free pre-school places.
Mr Quinn said he wanted to start a debate about providing a second year of free pre-school care by using some of the €2bn spent on Child Benefit every year.
His comments came after previous suggestions made by Social Protection Minister Joan Burton and Ms Fitzgerald about reforming Child Benefit to directly fund childcare.
Government figures were taken aback by Mr Quinn’s stance, according to The Irish Independent, with some saying they had “no idea” why he decided to raise the issue.
Meanwhile parents’ groups came out strongly against the proposal. Parents Against Cuts to Child Benefit spokeswoman Niamh Ui Cheallaigh said: “He’s robbing Peter to pay Paul. It won’t be very welcome to hear this for a lot of families, they will be horrified, to say the least.”
And the National Women’s Council of Ireland director Orla O’Connor said Child Benefit had already been cut enough.
It is thought that the Government has no appetite for a further Child Benefit cut in the forthcoming Budget in October.