Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I echo Senator Murphy's comments. It is impossible not to be touched by the text message he received. One cannot help but be affected when one sees videos of little children being dragged out of rubble. Those are the good stories, the ones being saved. It is an awful thing. More than 11,000 people have died so far and the figure is still rising. We all have troubles and difficulties in life but they are nothing compared to this.

I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on childcare with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman. The Minister and the Government have been very proactive in reducing childcare costs for parents. This has been welcomed by those I speak to in County Tipperary who have kids in childcare. The cost has dramatically reduced, which has made childcare more affordable for people. People who would otherwise be unable to send their children to childcare can now do so. Parents are positive towards this change.

However, we need to discuss the childcare providers and the issues of staff recruitment and pay. The new deal has been positive for parents but from speaking to childcare providers, they are struggling to recruit staff. The threshold that applies to the money they get creates extra layers of work. Qualified childcare providers who have done all the courses are leaving the sector to work in pubs, restaurants, Lidl or Aldi because they are getting paid more money. The Government has created more SNA places in schools and childcare providers are now leaving the profession to work as SNAs because the terms and conditions are much better. They get paid throughout the year and have longer holidays. We need to get to a point where childcare providers are treated almost exactly the same as teachers, SNAs and other staff in the educational sector.