Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister and her officials for coming and giving us of their time. It is very important and appreciated that we have an opportunity to discuss the scheme. I have a few brief points to make.

The Minister said she wanted to have a system that was simple for parents and providers and that it should be available online. Will she tell the committee when exactly it will be available online? Parents are asking providers about the scheme and have questions about what it will mean for them. They want to know when they will be able to obtain information on it and the providers are not able to tell them because they do not know the answer. What briefings are being offered to providers, or when will they occur, in order that providers will be able to give the information to parents? Many people go to members of the county child care committees which act as a one-stop-shop with questions about child care services. Have the committees been briefed on the scheme or when will that take place?

The Minister spoke about the early years strategy. I believe it is the key to everything. For years we have had many systems of child care because we were not following an early years strategy. Will the Minister indicate when she expects the strategy to be published and implemented? Is there a timeframe or plan in that regard?

It is welcome that the Minister met the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union and IMPACT to discuss the pay and conditions of child care workers. It is important to have the worker organisations on board, but the reality is that if we want quality child care services, we need to treat child care workers with the respect they deserve. Currently, their pay and conditions do not reflect the very valuable work they do. There will be an issue about sustainability if the high turnover of staff in the sector continues. What schemes does the Department plan to introduce to address the issue of workers' pay and conditions, as it will be the next crisis? We rightly hear a lot about the affordability of child care, but another aspect of the matter is the way workers are paid. Many of them cannot even meet the cost of their own bills and the problem especiallyd affects women who generally dominate the numbers employed in the sector. Perhaps the Minister might also provide clarity on the figure of 52 weeks. Is it the case that the amount of money is the same but spread over 52 instead of 48 weeks?