Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome what sounds like a very useful step in the right direction. Let me reframe the answer given by the Minister. Let us imagine she gives that answer about primary school teachers, saying we value them, that we are putting together an interdepartmental group and examining the minimum wage. Regardless of what we say, what interdepartmental groups are set up and how much we say we respect them, if the State was to primary school teachers the minimum wage, it would be a clear signal that we were not investing in the sector and are not serious about professional development. The Minister is thinking about this issue and working with colleagues on it. Childhood professionals are screaming for support. They are on the minimum wage and then move to social welfare payments. At the same time, we are saying we respect them and that we believe their educational input is at least as important as that of other education professionals. When might the childhood care and education providers see a package from the Government to support both continuous professional development, with commensurate accountability, and a substantial examination of investment in moving from the minimum wage to something more commensurate with that paid to other teachers in society?

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