Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I accept that radical change is needed in the childcare sector for many of the reasons the Deputy has outlined but I also want to say that is exactly what is happening. Over the last four years, we have seen the amount of money available for reforming and changing the childcare sector increase by 117%. The available budget for childcare has gone from €265 million to €574 million over four budgets. The report the Deputy refers to shows that more families than ever are taking up childcare subsidies and supports. More than 200,000 children are now subject to those supports. There has been a 24% increase on the previous year. The families of almost 40,000 children have now benefitted from non-means-tested subsidies introduced last year, worth €1,040 per year.

There are signs, although they are only signs, that childcare costs are stabilising. The cost of full-time childcare has increased by approximately 2% on average over the last year. This compares to an increase of 4% in the previous year. It has halved. We are not there yet. The Taoiseach often talks about this. It is about incremental change as we can afford it. Childcare is arguably the best example of that in government, where we are seeing dramatic change happening over a relatively short period. We now have a ten year strategy called First 5, which was launched last week. We saw enhanced subsidies introduced last September which have been accessed by more than 84,000 families. By the end of next year, which will mark enormous progress in the childcare sector, we will see the introduction of a new affordable childcare scheme. There will be significant build-up to that. I accept that this is an area where Ireland has not performed well by international and EU standards but those statistics are changing. The affordability of childcare in Ireland is changing and the supports available for families on low incomes are changing quickly. We need to continue down that path.

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