Trade union leaders criticised the provision of £250 million for childcare. The general secretary of ICTU, Mr Peter Cassells, said it would need to be revisited, while the vice-president of SIPTU, Mr Des Geraghty, said the investment was small, given the scope of the problem.
"This is one of the crucial issues to emerge recently for the labour force", Mr Geraghty said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform have initiated a joint national strategy to develop extra "quality childcare places to meet the growing demand". An initial scheme is proposed for Galway city and county.