Nessa Cosgrove (Labour) | Oireachtas source

That data is being collected alongside the Tusla information about people living in poverty. A lot of children probably are involved in family support services, particularly if there are services in their communities, such as Springboard projects, FRCs, DEIS schools and so forth. However, there is definitely a cohort of people who are still living in consistent poverty who are not engaged in any services. I worked in the voluntary and community sector and I think the work is wonderful.

That brings me to my next question about the early years sector. The Labour Party wants to see a move to a fully State-led public model of childcare. However, in the interim, there will be a third pillar. Recruitment and retention of staff is still a huge issue. I would love to see information about that.

I do not know if this is even the witnesses' brief. Of the people who graduate in early childhood care and education, ECCE, how many of them actually end up working in and staying in the sector? Likewise with social care, I know recruitment and retention of staff through my own experience as well. Are people staying and are they encouraged to stay? Are we going to end up in a situation where there is a public model eventually but the staff are not there?