Mr. Paul Bell:

I will preface my remarks by saying that I am not an expert when it comes to representing childcare workers. However, when we look back on the pandemic, there will be a number of aspects which we all will assume were weaknesses in trying to respond to the crisis. Childcare has been one of the weaknesses in the sense that there seemed to be no understanding of the need for a structured childcare industry where people who are providing childcare, the childcare workers, are properly paid and supported and to ensure that the service is available at the direction of the State to provide childcare for essential workers. While we are talking today about healthcare workers, there were other workers who were essential to the economy and they may have fallen into the same position of trying to provide various vital services but not having the back-up of childcare.

The Government must have a stronger input into the provision of childcare. At this stage, taxpayers' money is being used to fund childcare and provide services, but when it came to the crunch on this occasion, there seemed to be an understanding that somewhere along the line the Government and Department of Children and Youth Affairs were remote in trying to encourage or having a say in the provision or direction of childcare services. That is a weakness, and it has caused problems in the health service. It is something on which the Government will have to reflect. Regarding the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, it might interest the Deputy, and I believe my colleagues here will confirm this, that we did not speak to that Department until about 12 or 13 weeks into the emergency. That engagement was provided after the failure of the initial childcare proposal, which we knew from the start was going to be very difficult to implement.