Ms Deborah Reynolds:

I will come in on something Deputy Cairns asked about who makes up the difference and whether parents make up the difference with regard to the low investment that is put into childcare. It is parents who make up the difference but we also make up the difference because we have been on low pay for so long. Our goodwill has been piggybacked on for so long. We are the ones who are making up the difference.

I appreciate that Deputy Costello said we have to keep up the good fight. This is one of the first times that the voices of early years professionals have been heard in the Oireachtas. I hope that we will come in again and that we are heard again, as long as is needed, until we sort this sorry crisis out. It has been going on for so long.

What is happening on the ground is desperate, really. That is the only way to put it. Deputy Murnane O'Connor talked about people having second and third jobs. I am constantly talking to colleagues around the country. I heard about an early years professional who works 39 hours per week in a full day care crèche and then does two ten-hour shifts in a restaurant at the weekend. She gets paid more in the restaurant and she gets tips. That is how people are surviving. People are surviving by scrimping and saving and trying to make ends meet. They cannot do it. It is disgraceful, really.

One of my colleagues and fellow members in SIPTU put it really well the other day. She said that for so long, we have been embarrassed about our bad jobs. We have been embarrassed about trying to scrimp and save, and trying to survive on social welfare payments, when in fact it is the Government that should embarrassed by the state of what is happening. It is almost laughable how bad it is except we are getting pleas for help from people around the country.

Ultimately, we are here today because the budget is taking place this time next week. When it is all over, my phone will be out and I will either be sending text messages to people celebrating the fact that we have gotten something good, or else, to be honest, if we do not see anything significant ring-fenced in the budget for wages, I am going to get text messages from people saying they are going to type up their letter of resignation.

That is simply the way it is. Sometimes, when we see statistics on the staffing crisis, Pobal figures and so on, the reality does not hit. We cannot fix everything next week but we need to plug a leak. Money needs to be ring-fenced for wages in the budget.

I am happy to answer any questions. Mr. O'Connor might want to comment on the joint labour committee, JLC.