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

There is a comfort in the Minister's answer that her Department is taking ownership of the scheme. That is fantastic because hers is probably one of the hardest working Departments.

She is right that the work required is significant and very complex. However, the providers need to know when the parents come to them to ask questions and enrol in the scheme if they are to tell those parents through which office they will do so in the interim. What are we saying to the providers? Are we saying that funding could be found for them for extra non-contact hours? There will be a significant workload for them. Does the Department of Children and Youth Affairs have any plans to announce any extra little bit of funding so that they would be able to take on the extra workload that will now be put upon them?

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