Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will speak for three minutes and my colleague, Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan, will speak for five minutes.

I will be succinct in what I have to say. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this Private Members' Bill today. It is certainly at an opportune moment especially given what has been said about workers in the child-care sector, many of whom are facing a period on the dole from this week.

We know what the issues are and I am not going to go through them again. The sector has been starved of money. Money was put into the community sector, but not enough. Then, there was considerable reliance on the private sector but vast amounts of money are needed. A parent is almost paying a second mortgage for child care and crèche costs. That is not necessarily the fault of those running the child-care facilities. Other factors include health and safety and all the regulation that goes with it. Then there is the matter of paying staff, although the pay is not great.

What really struck me from the Minister's speech was the point about sectoral arrangements and the Workplace Relations Commission. It highlights one thing to me in this sector. I was at a meeting yesterday of English language teachers, another sector of teaching where the same situation arises. They are on fixed-term contracts. They do not get paid for holidays or sick pay. They are trying to get union representation.

The sectoral issue was raised in the context of the employment order. We were informed that a union has to have a given number of members before an order can be made. I endorse the call by Deputy Mick Barry for everyone in the sector to join a union and demand the sectoral employment order. That is how they will achieve it or win it. It is important for that to happen. Without that voice they will not get it. If the Minister is saying that the Department would support it, then Deputies in the Dáil would support it also.

This area has to be addressed. It is an important sector. We all know that. It is relevant for the professionals who work in the sector and run it. Parents expect professional education and care for their children. I hope we will not be sitting here for the next two years. There will always be a problem with child care, but at the end of the day I support Deputies who have said that the sector requires significant investment. It is a public service that should be paid for.

I particularly agree with the call in the Sinn Féin motion on the Government to carry out, as a matter of urgency, an independent early years service cost and sustainability review. I am unsure of the Minister's position. Does she support it? We need to look at what the costs are and then we can move to where we need to go.

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