Child benefit should be greatly increased and should not be taxed, Dr Martin O'Donoghue, chairman of the Progressive Democrats' economic policy committee, said at the weekend.
He told a conference at University College Dublin on "The Future of the Celtic Tiger and the Family" it might seem "superficially" that the best way for the State to provide childcare support would be with tax allowances to parents for childcare payments.
But this would be of no benefit to mothers with low incomes, and would add to the discrimination against the family by excluding `stay-at-home' parents providing their own care.
"Indeed, it is interesting to note that in some quarters the suggestion is made that the present tax-free allowances given for a stay-at-home spouse should be scrapped and replaced by a working mothers' allowance, which would only be paid to the stay-at-home wife while there were young children to be cared for," he said.
What was needed instead, he said, was an approach which would help to strengthen rather than further weaken the traditional family structure.
"If the present child benefit structure is to be retained as the basic policy vehicle for child support, then this would call for greatly increased levels of payment, especially for younger children when the need for care is greatest. And this benefit should be free of tax, contrary to the suggestions in some quarters that child benefit should be taxable."
Advocates of the taxation of child benefit argue that this would allow a much higher basic rate to be paid, which would benefit poorer families. But Dr O'Donoghue said it was equally important that better off families should be allowed to provide for their own children.
Dr O'Donoghue also argued that the welfare system discouraged some people from getting married. Two unemployed people living apart would lose £30 a week if they married because one spouse would be paid less as a dependant, he said.
The conference was organised by the Family Conference Committee and the UCD Newman Group.