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

I think we are both very committed to the sustainability issue. As the Deputy is aware, €1 million was provided in budget 2017 to ensure the sustainability of certain services. The Department has worked very hard to assist those who have come forward to work with us in this regard. I have secured an additional €700,000 in budget 2018 to continue this work. This will continue to be an important aspect of our efforts to build capacity in these contexts. As the Deputy has rightly pointed out, additional quality measures to support the workforce are part of the building of capacity. I have a number of things to say in that regard. Specifically, I would like to answer the Deputy's question about additional moneys by saying I intend that some of the key measures I have identified for increased funding in budget 2018 will lead to service providers having more pay to offer to dedicated child care professionals.

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