Mark Hennessy
Mothers should be given 26 weeks' paid maternity leave and the option to take another six months unpaid, Sinn Féin has urged the Government.
Demanding childcare improvements from the Minister for Finance Brian Cowen in the upcoming budget, Sinn Féin said the State's record in helping parents and children was abysmal.
Every child should get 3.5 hours of preschool education five days a week in the year before they entered primary education, which Sinn Féin believes would cost approximately €130 million a year.
The monthly child benefit payment should rise from €141.60 to €155.92 for the first child and €192.85 for the third and subsequent children.
Proposing that free medical cards should be given to all under-18s, Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said this would cost over €220 million, according to the latest official figures.
In its document, Putting Children First, Sinn Féin said: "It is widely recognised that the most effective and efficient form of healthcare is primary care, including GP services." The Department of Health and Children put the €220 million costing on the measure last month, when it was asked to do so by Sinn Féin.
However, the same measure was costed by Health and Children in 2004 at €116 million - a €107 million rise in little more than a year.
"This raises questions both about the costing capacity of the Department of Health and Children and about the rise in the cost of the medical card scheme," said Sinn Féin.
Party leader Gerry Adams said the State came third-last in a poverty league of 18 of the world's richest countries examined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
"The level of inequality and consistent poverty in this part of Ireland today is testament to the fundamentally flawed approach of the Government over 8½ years in office," said Mr Adams.
A special childcare allowance should be paid to parents of all under-fives.
"This is the time when they need all the additional supports that they can get," said Mr Ó Caoláin.
However, speaking at a press conference in Dublin, the Cavan/Monaghan TD cautioned that Sinn Féin had not costed the proposal and was not setting down a proposed level of payment.
The childcare allowance would be available to all parents and would not be means-tested, MEP Mary Lou McDonald said.
Meanwhile, the child dependant allowance, which is means-tested, should be increased substantially to help the poorest families. Fathers should be able to qualify for paid paternity leave for two weeks following the birth of a child.