Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

4 o’clock

I am in complete agreement with Deputy Smith's comment that there are problems in both the private child care setting as well as the community and not-for-profit setting. I have done much work in the area over the years and even in community settings for providing child care where there is public money going in, it is still not enough for the people whose children need to be cared for in a fashion that is completely publicly subsidised child care. A very important start was the free preschool year and we are now moving to additional weeks, which we call a second year. They are also provided in that context.

The question also raises absolutely the need for a quality standard, which we are developing. The question particularly relates to after-school care. Allied to that is a way of monitoring and ensuring that those quality standards can be implemented and that those who do not comply will have to answer as to why they should be in receipt of public money.

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