Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am sceptical that the efforts the Minister has outlined will deliver the affordable childcare that we need. There is already evidence that the childcare scheme may merely push up the prices charged by the private providers and wipe out the value of the subsidy. That highlights the overall problem. A little like the housing crisis, the Government's plans for childcare depend on the private sector. I am not sure the private sector will deliver. It may merely increase prices but also not deliver the places.

To my mind, unless the State directly provides affordable childcare places, which will also deal with the issue of precarious work and pay, we will not get the sort of affordable childcare that we desperately need.

In my area, there is a large new housing development called Cualanor and Honeypark. A crèche was supposed to be provided as part of planning. It was never provided because when we are depending on a private developer to do it, it just does not happen.

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