Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome our guests and thank them for feeding into this debate, which has been ongoing for a number of weeks. We are trying to make proposals that will address the quality and affordability issues that so many parents are facing. I will not rehash what we have said in recent weeks. Instead, I will seek clarification by asking the witnesses a number of questions. The county child care committees play important roles in the communities they serve. It is fair to say that there may be inconsistencies from county to county in the level of support provided and the level of engagement with certain services. Thankfully, I can say from my personal experience that the child care committees in Counties Westmeath and Longford are very proactive and very supportive of the services in those counties. Perhaps the witnesses will comment on that.

It has been suggested that approximately 4% of the overall expenditure of €260 million on early years settings is spent through the county child care committees as part of the national delivery structure. Do the committees feel they have the capacity to deliver more? I wonder why the Better Start programme, which has been initiated in recent months, has not been rolled out through the county child care committees.

I think the removal from the county child care committees of the childminding post, which was important in terms of providing the necessary supports to childminders, has been a detrimental step. Many of our children are being minded in this unregulated sector.

Reference has also been made to community services. I sit on the board of a local community service in County Westmeath. I agree with the assertion that it is becoming very challenging to find people to sit on the boards of these community services. Perhaps the witnesses might share their experience of how we might address that. Many community services would not be viable if they were not able to avail of community employment staff. It seems that when the changes to the educational qualifications that are required come in, a number of community employment staff will be disqualified from being part of the core staffing requirement. If that happens, the viability of many community services will be threatened.

I understand that the learner fund is due to expire later this year. Would the witnesses support the extension of that fund?

Dr. Moloney spoke about educational requirements. Goodbody Economic Consultants found that staff education and training levels impeded the ability of educators to engage with and implement the framework. Does Dr. Moloney think the decision to defer the qualification requirement by 12 months was the right one? Should it have been maintained in September of this year?

I ask the representatives of the county child care committees, who have said they represent the only organisation that is in operation nationally, to comment on the capacity with the sector for a second free preschool year. A number of people who acknowledge the need for a second free preschool year have suggested that capacity issues would come into play.

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the new regulations and the registration process. The Department announced new regulations as a consequence of the "Prime Time Investigates" exposé, which has been alluded to, but we have yet to see those regulations. We know that services are inundated with inspections from bodies such as Pobal, NERA, the HSE and Tusla. The new educational inspections are also going in. What is the opinion of the witnesses on the inspection process? Surely a streamlined overall approach would be much better and would give much better value without putting undue pressure on services.

That is not saying for a moment that the standards should be compromised, but it should be done in a far more streamlined way.

Regarding Síolta and Aistear, the witnesses alluded to many of the positive developments that have taken place in this sector over the past ten to 12 years and the fact that we are coming from a very low base, not to mention the huge investment in the capital infrastructure. Unfortunately, the investment in personnel did not match the investment in capital infrastructure. We have Síolta and Aistear, our curriculum and the quality framework for implementation, and they are internationally recognised to be of a very good standard. What must happen to ensure we have an effective roll-out of these? I have asked both the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and his predecessor about the national roll-out of these. Frankly, I have not been able to get the answer. Perhaps the witnesses would outline their personal experience in that regard.

I wish to raise a matter with Dr. Moloney. It has been brought to my attention that in certain instances some of the educators that are educating the workforce to FETAC level 5 or level 6 in some of the institutions are not qualified to be conducting the courses. If the educators are not qualified to conduct the courses, how can we expect quality qualifications emanating from that? Perhaps she will address that point.

As the witnesses might be aware, my party has published a strategy reflecting how I would like to see this sector develop over the next five years. A number of strands feed into that in terms of increased capitation, a special fund for special educational needs and a special fund for professional development. However, it also acknowledges, and the witnesses might wish to discuss this, that there are capacity and quality issues which we must address over the next number of years. On an interim temporary basis, to support families who are put to the pin of their collar with the cost of child care, it proposes the introduction of a tax credit. I do not believe it will increase the cost of it, but I would welcome the witnesses' comments on that aspect.