Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have two suggestions on this review, which I believe the Minister will conduct in the first quarter of next year. The first is that, in that mix, State-provided early childcare crèche facility services could be examined, in addition to community or private services. That State option could set the rates and change the nature of the way the entire service works.

Second, and fundamentally, the First 5 strategy was welcome in recognising that there are a variety of provisions of early childcare. During a child's first year, particularly in the home, the parents have a key role. Should it not be left up to the parents to make some of these decisions by transferring the nature of the subsidy from the crèche institution to the parents to give them the flexibility to decide the best approach? The recent 2016 census showed that 83% of parents were satisfied with their arrangements. I believe they are satisfied typically because they make the arrangements. It might be a crèche, a childminder or care at home. Surely it would be better in this review to trust parents and support them rather than the current system, which is funding one particular area and may not be delivering some of the objectives being sought.

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