Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A certain amount is given to the providers generally for non-contact time to support and acknowledge the time they spend outside the rooms with the children. In addition we provided a certain sum of money per child registration per type of service in the interim measures introduced in September 2017 because we acknowledged there was additional work for the providers in signing children up to each of those services.

There were two questions about the child care campaign that we conducted in the summer, some of the Taoiseach's communications on that and the Department's communication of what we are doing. It will not come as any surprise to the Deputy, because it was mentioned in the media, that I raised some serious concerns with the Taoiseach about what had happened with the strategic communications unit, SCU, and Project Ireland 2040, particularly focusing on the need for a Department to maintain editorial control of the use of taxpayers' money, the purchase of advertising or the content provided to the newspapers. I welcomed the Taoiseach's response to those concerns, and we are now in the middle of a debate about what will happen as a result of the review by the Secretary General as well as the independent scrutiny by the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, that is expected and by the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland. A lot of scrutiny will be going on, and then we will move to make some decisions.