The Government's £290 million initiative on childcare will only succeed if employers live up to their responsibilities, the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, said last night.
Ms O'Donnell, speaking at the PD selection convention in Limerick East, said employers must respond more positively and dynamically to the childcare needs of thousands of Irish families by transforming the workplace into a "truly family friendly environment". This would be a crucial investment in their workforce, she said.
"I believe employers must see care facilities for children not as a costly extra, but as a key ingredient in the new workplace in which everyone's needs, however diverse, are fully taken into account."
She said the PDs were also committed to substantial increases in child benefit as the most effective way of dealing with the financial implications of childcare for thousands of families.
A cousin of the Limerick East TD, Mr Des O'Malley, was selected at a PD convention yesterday to contest the former party leader's seat in the next general election.
Mr Tim O'Malley, a member of Limerick County Council, emerged as the only candidate to stand after his colleague, Ms Bridget Teefy, withdrew her nomination in the interests of party unity.