Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their time this morning. I would like to expand on some of the things Mr. Peelo and other contributors touched on around the social welfare supports that are in place. Maybe we can pull this out a little further. The criteria that exist fail to grasp the reality lived by a number of lone parents, who may go on to become cohabiting parents or a married couple, in the sense that if there is a social welfare payment, it is dependent on both of them. There is an assumption that the non-biological parent or adult in that home will take on the financial responsibilities of the child yet Revenue still treats these individuals as being entirely separate, even if they are cohabiting and have been for a considerable period of time. As the child ages, if that couple has not married and continues to cohabit, SUSI will entirely disregard the earned income of the non-biological parent. This seems like a chronic lack of joined-up thinking and a complete lack of any common sense as to what a family unit now looks like. I ask the witnesses to comment on that.

Turning to Ms Byrne and the affordability of childcare, as a mother of four I have walked this walk and I know the financial costs that can come with it. There are also very real questions around the availability of childcare, particularly in our regions and in rural Ireland, where there may be no options for either full-time or part-time childcare providers. When there is talk of increasing GDP, does Ms Byrne see any merit in targeting areas that have no or very low provision of childcare, in tandem with providing additional support to the services that exist? We heard quite recently in the media that there are significant delays in children with additional needs being assessed and receiving a diagnosis. What impact does that have on early education providers? If they know a child who is coming to their service has additional needs and is on a waiting list, what impact does that have on their ability to provide a service that meets the needs of such children?

My final question is for Mr. O'Connor. The level of pay in the childcare sector is truly beyond fathom. We value these individuals enough to leave our offspring with them and provide an early childhood education but the pay they receive is not comparable with the level of responsibility and trust parents place in them. From an international perspective, has a comparison been done on the pay, conditions and progression opportunities childcare workers have here compared to other countries? It is my firmly held belief that there has been a systemic failure to recognise the need, value and importance of early years education, as opposed to childminding. I can hire a babysitter on a Friday evening no problem. I can hire a local teenager. That is very different from what early years education looks like.