Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is not how I envisaged making my maiden speech but it is where we find ourselves in these strange times. I will start by extending my condolences to all the families that have lost people to the virus. I thank the front-line services across the sectors who have kept everything open for the rest of us.

It is an honour to stand here on behalf of the premier county. It has taken us 102 years to make a bit of history and win back a Sinn Féin seat in Tipperary. For that, I thank the party members in Cashel and all over the county who worked day and night and covered a massive amount of ground in the canvass. I will be forever grateful for that. I thank the 10,000 voters who placed their trust in me and assure them that I will work tirelessly on their behalf. I assure those who did not give me a vote this time around that my door is always open to them, as is my phone. I will represent each and every one of them to the best of my ability.

I thank a few people who are not around, who are looking down on me and who would be very proud, such as my own mother and father, and Frankie, Timmy and Mickey as well. They were a great help to me down through the years. I thank my own family for all the support that they have given me. Only for them I would not be here. I again thank Helen, Gavin, Katie, Molly and Murty.

At the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, when all of us were faced with the uncertainty that lay ahead, early childhood educators in particular were left in limbo by the Government which had failed to act on the concerns raised by the representatives of the sector prior to the election. The challenges facing the sector were well known by all of us prior to the election. On the doorsteps in every corner of Tipperary, the costs to parents and the working conditions for staff and providers were a common concern during the election and they have been since. Unfortunately, since the start of the crisis there was an initial lack of clarity regarding staff wages. After immense work by the sector itself and my colleagues in Sinn Féin, among others, it is welcome that the Minister saw sense on this issue. However, many other serious concerns remain. The larger challenges facing the sector have not been addressed. In our election manifesto, Sinn Féin called for a fully publicly funded early years model of childcare and it is clear now that this is exactly what is needed to protect this vital area of service.

What long-term measures to support the early years sector have been considered as part of the Government's roadmap for reopening Ireland. As the early years sector goes back to work from 18 May, we cannot simply go back to the dysfunctional system that existed before the lockdown, which providers, workers and parents had united in protest against through the Big Start campaign. In Tipperary, I have been contacted by workers and providers in the early years sector who are concerned with the lack of engagement on this issue. They are worried that in the rush to reopen, that the concerns they spent months trying to get the Government to act on will be ignored. Many of them are smaller providers whose very viability, which was already precarious, has been threatened even further by the lockdown. They fear that the Government will settle for getting back to normal. Unfortunately, normal was not good enough for parents, children, workers or providers in the early years sector.

I wish to ask the Minister two questions. The first is what long-term plan the Government has to support the early years sector. The second is whether the Minister will commit to supporting a publicly funded childcare model that would reduce the cost on parents and improve the pay of workers in the sector. The Minister can provide written responses. I will not eat into the time of my colleague, Deputy Carthy.

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