Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I welcome those child care workers, trade unionists and campaigners for decent pay and conditions who are in the Visitors Gallery and who are watching on television screens around the country. I want to indicate that we, on these benches, will be supporting the Sinn Féin motion when the votes are taken.

The average hourly rate of pay for a child care assistant in the State is €10.27 per hour. That is doubly a scandal, given the importance of the work that is being done by these workers. These workers have invariably spent very significant sums of money, running to thousands of euro, putting themselves through college and getting the training and qualifications for the work and yet multiple indignities are heaped on them. Of course, many of them are forced to sign on the dole during the months of July and August. They have no choice in that matter.

Professional workers deserve professional pay.

One Deputy mentioned that the rate for the living wage is €11.70 as of this week. No child care professional in this State should earn less than that.

I note with interest the reference in the Minister's speech to an approach involving a central employment order through either the Workplace Relations Commission or the Labour Court. The Minister assured the House that her Department would make a submission to such a process. Those words should serve as a green light for trade unions and in particular for child care workers to flood into the unions in this country in vast numbers, linking the demand for sectoral employment orders with a decent rate of pay.

I want to bring before the House a case relating to the summer scheme at the Before 5 Nursery and Family Centre in Churchfield, Cork. I wish to highlight part of the Minister's speech. She stated:

There have been changes in community child care recently. New regulations have caused difficulty as a number of community providers moved from a dependency on community employment scheme participants to qualified practitioners. A total of €1 million in payments has commenced to help services through this transition. I want to acknowledge that Deputies from all sides of the House approached me on this issue and I assure them that action has been taken.

The word from the grassroots in communities is that action is not being taken. The Before 5 Nursery and Family Centre in Churchfield, Cork, is an after-school arrangement that caters for 33 families. There are 28 children there on a daily basis. Many of those children would have no holidays whatsoever were it not for the scheme. Activities include going to the beach or the local five-a-side centre, painting in the centre and so on for four days per week for four weeks, yet that arrangement had to be collapsed this year because the resources are not in place. After-school services are not properly funded. The changes in the community employment childcare programme came from the Department of Social Protection four years ago. The number of CE staff in the centre in Cork is down from four to one. Nothing has been put in place to replace the programme or to make arrangements for the summer holidays for children from those families from this working class community in my constituency.

I do not think that is the only summer scheme facing that situation this summer. There needs to be action. The words do not match the reality. Action is not being taken. There needs to be progress on this immediately.

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