Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses are very welcome to our committee. It is great to have this topic discussed. It is one we regularly have conversations about, so it is great to have the witnesses before us. I congratulate everybody on the work they do. There have been changes within the sector and we are not where we want to be. It is all down to the advocacy and work of the organisations before us and the witnesses coming in here and relaying that. It is very important they are here again today as we will be able to take their message back to our parties and engage in cross-party work on this.

Core funding has its difficulties and problems, which are well recognised. It has been a game changer and had made a huge difference in the way early years education has been funded. We are trying to improve children's outcomes within services, especially in vulnerable and disadvantaged areas. I am interested in the witnesses' views on how a DEIS model could work within the system. Everyone is talking about the administrative burden. It seems like a big mountain, but also a man-made one, that needs to be traversed.

I am very interested in finding out whether there are ways in which we can reduce the burden. Early Childhood Ireland mentioned the amalgamation of funding programmes. Administration is really important for lots of reasons, including transparency and making sure that staff are paid properly. Many of my colleagues have given their children over to an early childcare provider and staff member, as have I. They hold our worlds with them every day. I have four young boys and it is a privilege to be able to hand my children over to someone they love. That is priceless so their work needs to be valued more. Along with all this administration, how do we give the staff who look after our most precious belongings in the world the value we personally put on them monetarily? How do we support providers to do that?

It may not be a matter for this debate but perhaps Ms Duggan could brief us on something in a side note. I refer to the €17 per child. What is needed per child?