Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No, it is still in place. Those who are looking for child-care services want full-day care more than they do after-school care. Perhaps they make their own arrangements for after school. There is also perhaps the cost issue, but it was funded.

On Deputy Fitzpatrick's point about those who are working in the sector, we want staff to be qualified. We will demand that, by September 2014 and 2015, staff will have qualifications and it is important that we persist with that. The reason the Government allocated funding to subsidise the training is that it will be affordable. There will be a large subsidy for any training that is needed. That is the first point.

The second point is we will have a transition recognition for staff who have been in the sector for a long time and who meet certain criteria. It is usually referred to as "a grandfather clause". It is probably more "a grandmother clause" in this instance as there are more women than men. We will deal with some of the transition issues for staff who are experienced. In that regard, we must have clear criteria because we want those in the sector to be qualified and to reached the level of those qualifications.