The Tanaiste has said the Progressive Democrats will make the easing of the child-care burden on thousands of Irish families a key priority in the next budget.
Ms Harney said her party would adopt a twin-track strategy on the issue. "Firstly, we must commit ourselves to a substantial rise in child benefit in next December's budget, as this is the most effective way of handling the ever-increasing costs of child-care.
"Secondly, we need to substantially increase the availability of child-care facilities, in the workplace and in the community."
She said there was no reason why new child-care facilities could not be developed simultaneously with the construction of new housing estates. "This would avoid the type of isolation which can be experienced by many young families who don't have their basic needs catered for when they move into a new area. There may be a role for the private sector in providing these facilities."
She accepted the Government had a responsibility to those parents who could not afford basic child-care costs. "If we are serious about limiting social exclusion, we need to give parents who are finding it difficult to balance the books the means to look after their children properly.
"There has been some advocacy of tax breaks to offset the child-care costs of working parents, but I believe this would clearly discriminate against stay-at-home parents, and the thousands of people who don't work and are in receipt of State supports."
The Combat Poverty Agency has also called for major increases in child benefit as the best way of supporting families, since it is not means-tested and is therefore beneficial to those on low incomes.
Ms Harney said the introduction of tax incentives in last December's Budget was aimed at encouraging companies to provide on-site child-care facilities. In her role as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment she wanted to encourage employers to view the provision of child-care facilities, not as an extra expense, but as "a vital investment in the future of their workforce."