Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to apologise on behalf of Deputy Ó Caoláin who cannot attend today. I welcome the members of the Donegal County Childcare Committee and commend them on commissioning this report, which is a valuable contribution to our deliberations. I also welcome the members of Start Strong who are here. We are very impressed by the work of both groups.

The Sinn Féin approach to the child care issue would be more similar to that of Start Strong in that we favour a universal approach. Support for the first year is sacrosanct and should be maintained. We would also prefer the second year to be universal, but we are mindful that there are budget constraints. Therefore, as it is unlikely we will have universal care for the second year, we see merit in a targeted approach for deprived communities and families.

I have a number of comments or questions on the presentations made today. The Donegal County Childcare Committee members stated that a noteworthy feature of current child care funding policy is the absence of any child care support for low-income working families who do not avail of the community child care subvention scheme. Why do they not avail of it? The cost of child care in Ireland is the second most expensive of the OECD countries. Why is this the case and what is the solution? Can the witnesses give us some examples of best practice in other countries? The requirement that all child care service providers be tax compliant is primarily aimed at bringing non-regulated paid childminders into the regulatory system. However, the majority of child care is provided by family members. How do the witnesses see this area being regulated for the future?

Start Strong delegates made the point that according to the OECD, Ireland invests only 0.4% of GDP annually in child care and early education services, compared to the OECD average of 0.7% of GDP. Is this the major problem? Internationally, 1% of GDP is the recognised benchmark for the level of annual investment required to achieve high quality early education. If this was to happen here, how would it benefit children, child care providers or parents? The free preschool year, with a 94% take-up, has significantly improved access, proving the fact that free child care works. Therefore, should it not be expanded to a second year?

We welcome the fact the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has announced there is to be a review of these two schemes. On what should this review focus? Despite the high cost of early care and education to parents here, the wages paid to those working in the sector are low. Where does the money go and are huge profits being made? Are child care profits not being reinvested in child care? The Government could, and should, do more to lever quality improvements to the conditions attached to public funding. Can we have some examples of how this could be done?