Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

is concerned:

— about the financial implications of the withdrawal of the early child care supplement on many families, particularly middle and low income families;

— that the pre-school year in early childhood care and education scheme was announced in absence of information on the number of participating service providers;

— about the viability of the scheme in practical terms, as currently set out;

— at the lack of detail published about the scheme, information provided to parents and the absence of proper consultation with service providers on the roll-out of the scheme, bearing in mind that the scheme is to be available on the 1 January 2010;

— about the availability of participating pre-school places, particularly in remote or more rural areas;

— at the inflexibility of the terms of the scheme and the fact that this may act as a barrier for service providers to participate; and

— that the flat-rate capitation grant may not be adequate in areas where the cost of providing pre-school services is more expensive than in other parts of the country;

calls on the Government to:

— provide parents with detailed information on how they can access the scheme in their area;

— outline the exact number of eligible children by county and the location of participating service providers;

— ensure that the terms of the scheme are flexible to reasonably accommodate differing family circumstances and the age profile and needs of the child;

— engage in proper consultation with service providers with a view to addressing and resolving outstanding issues; and

— apply a capitation fee structure that ensures the scheme is acceptable and affordable in all areas.

I wish to share time with Deputies Mitchell, Catherine Byrne, Joe Carey, Connaughton, Bannon and McCormack.

See this speech in context