Childcare:Fine Gael launched a pre-school care package costed at €650 million annually at its annual conference at the weekend.
The proposals include a pledge to make families a direct payment of €1,000 a year for each child until they go to primary school.
In addition the party promised an annual credit system to be put in place to access childcare. The credit would be worth €1,500 a year for a child's first three years and €2,500 for the final pre-school year.
Announcing the new policy programme the party's Social and Family Affairs spokesman, David Stanton, also promised to increase paid maternity leave from its current 18 weeks to 26. He pledged to introduce a week's paid paternal leave and one week's paid parental leave for either parent to take.
Fine Gael's proposal offers a total of 10 weeks' extra paid leave on what is currently available. "Incrementally, we propose to extend this to lead eventually to 52 weeks paid leave," deputy Stanton said.
The main principle of the party's policy was that "we must make things better for children and easier for parents", and this included children's "right to the care of their parents especially in the vital first year of life".
The policy proposals are costed at €650 million a year, excluding child benefit. Mr Stanton said that while Fine Gael supported increased benefit it was "not an effective or targeted measure to improve accessibility or quality in childcare and early education".
The party plans a discretionary €50 million fund to support the community creche and playgroup sector and legislative change that would ensure all childcare facilities would be transferred to local authority or childcare committee ownership.
The Fine Gael policy also envisages on-site childcare facilities to be built at all new primary schools.
The party said it wants to promote quality childcare as a rewarding and respected career option, and proposes an income disregard of €10,000 for childminders who undertake proper childcare qualifications.
Guest speaker Dr Francis Douglas of UCC's department of education told delegates that "we have enough money to afford any kind of childcare system we like".
He compared Ireland to the similar-sized economy of Finland, Europe's number one at early childcare and education. It spends 1.45 per cent of its GDP on pre-school care compared to between 0.2 per cent and 0.5 per cent in Ireland.
In Finland parents and carers pay a maximum of 15 per cent of the childcare costs and the remainder is subsidised by State and local authority taxes.
While Finland has the same 18 weeks' maternity leave as Ireland it offers 26 weeks parental leave paid at between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of salary and three weeks' paid paternal leave.
The quality of childcare was emphasised by Hilary Kenny, former CEO of the Irish Pre-School Playgroups Association. She warned that childcare was not "neutral" in its effects and that poor quality childcare could have "damaging outcomes" for children.
