Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The workers in the sector do not feel valued. Anybody working ten years in a sector who has had no pay increase in that time will not feel valued. A young girl, who went to college, got a first-class honours degree but has to move home from Galway to commute to Westmeath, does not feel valued. Despite the rhetoric and the promises, there is still a bureaucratic regulatory system requirement on the providers. They are still being charged commercial rates despite the fact they are essentially providing a State service.

There are things the Government could do that are not being done. To talk about 2028 is simply not good enough. It is only 2019. Young people who have qualified want to work and make a contribution to this sector but they do not feel valued. They are leaving in their droves. If corrective action is not taken now rather than in 2028, the Minister will have a greater crisis on her hands.

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