Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her comments. I hear what she is saying, that we will pay the price for a rushed effort in the long run. However, many parents and child care providers are asking what will happen in the interim, how they will avail of the scheme, how they will apply for it, where they will find the time to fill out the forms and, if self-employed, whether they will apply to the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Social Protection or the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, DCYA. Who will take ownership of the scheme in the interim? It is clear the priority is that the parents will be able to avail of the funding; how they will access it is the question. In the interim, it is back to paper, but who will take ownership? I assume the Department of Children and Youth Affairs will do so, but where will the parents go? Will they go to the child care provider again or will they have to sit at home and manually apply for the scheme? If they apply but do not have all the information, for example, from the Department of Social Protection or the Revenue Commissioners, where will the shortfall be caught from?

See this speech in context