The Green Party will redress the "discriminatory" individualisation tax policy introduced by the Minister for Finance if voted into government.
Speaking today, Councillor Mr Eamonn Ryan said the tax policy, which makes it more profitable for both parents to work, discriminates against parents who would prefer to stay at home to rear their children.
Last year the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, introduced full individualisation of the standard rate income band, which increased the amount of income to be taxed at the standard rate by 10.3 per cent for single taxpayers and dual-income couples.
But for single-income couples, the band only increased by 0.5 per cent, making it more viable for both partners to work.
Mr Ryan said children’s welfare should be put at the heart of politics and that although affordable childcare was an important issue, it was not the only one.
The Green Party said it will give parents the chance to take a once-off, three-year leave of absence from their careers and will guarantee the right, at key stages, for parents to work part-time.
Mr Ryan said child issues were too often pigeon-holed as women’s issues but insisted men were equally concerned.
"This is as much a man’s issue as it is a woman’s issue," he said.
The Greens said they would increase the number of children’s playgrounds by 300, making them a mandatory requirement in all new developments, and would establish a nationwide network of community childcare centres.
Party leader Mr John Gormley said the Green Party, in coalition, was the only party that could "put manners on Fianna Fáil".