Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

If not, we can get a written response. I welcome that the Minister has come to the House despite the fact that she lost her seat in the election. I wish her well in the future.

There are serious concerns among self-employed owner-managers of childcare facilities who have been forced onto the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment while all their staff are receiving the wage subsidy scheme aimed at the retention of staff, which is good. These owner-managers are still working with parents, supporting the staff and carrying out large amounts of administration duties, but are left on unemployment payment. Will the Government examine this important cohort of managers, who appear to have fallen through the cracks, and ensure that they too are put on the wage subsidy scheme? What will happen after mid-June? Can they claim unemployment benefit for the summer months as well? These people are vital. They are owners and managers. They planted the seeds for those crèches, built them up and employed their staff. They are very good staff. We do not want to have a "them and us" situation with the staff. It is a team, an important team that grows around the love of caring for children.

Ar an dara ceist, there are major concerns about the capacity issues in the early childcare sector after Covid-19. While the wage subsidy scheme is welcome in the context of the retention and support of staff, there is great concern regarding the large loss of revenue that some services are facing. Many services are reporting losses of over €600 per week. There is great concern about whether these services will be able to reopen. They cannot sustain such losses. They were already struggling and had experienced huge rises, sometimes a quadrupling, in the cost of insurance. Some could not even get insurance. We must address that. At present, the sustainability fund is only available to not-for-profit services. Can this fund be extended to include all services to improve the chances of reopening in September? It is unfair; it is not a level playing field. It should include everyone.

On the wider childcare sector issues, given that all childcare facilities are currently closed, with staff paid directly via the wage subsidy scheme and a top-up from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, this is an opportunity to examine, regenerate and reinvest in the sector. It is ironic to think that it takes a pandemic such as this to force a root-and-branch review of what is happening in the sector. I salute all the workers and the public and private providers. I was a founder member, and am still a board member, of Naíonra Chaisleán Nua, which works through the medium of Irish, so I am aware of the work they do. I also know about the onerous duties that fall on the voluntary board members. They are getting more onerous due to regulations. Deputy Nolan mentioned Tusla. There is a need for that, but we are over-regulated in many areas and there is no proper, sustainable funding stream for the future. Live horse and one will get grass. One is always waiting. There are also big pressures in all areas, including rural areas. Children from 60 miles away are attending our crèche. It is a wonderful facility at the foothills of the Knockmealdown Mountains in Newcastle. I pay tribute to the voluntary board, the staff and the management.

I note that a new model is being proposed. The Minister's programme for the period 2020 to 2025 was outlined before the election. We must reinvest in what we have and look at the anomalies that exist and try to close them. That is very important. Despite the lip service paid to them over the years, there has been totally unfair discrimination against the carers in the home, be it mothers or fathers. There is also the great effort and support provided by grandparents and the wider family. The people who stay at home to mind their children must not be discriminated against. There is discrimination against families in many areas across the Minister's Department, and I have raised this with her previously. That is unacceptable. We are making it almost undesirable for parents to stay at home. There is no better place for the child to learn than the home. That has been proven by studies carried out across the globe.

This is a timely opportunity. I believe many blessings will come out of this sad pandemic as well.

We must insist that Governments, Departments and officials have due regard for the family as the best vehicle to rear children and do not have it discriminated against, as under many of the schemes in the past. I have debated this with the Minister across this floor but nothing has changed. Ní neart go cur le chéile. We support the parents in the first instance and, indeed, the local and voluntary crèches, in addition to the public ones. I would appreciate answers. The Minister does not have time to respond this evening but I appeal to her to provide a written reply to them, más é do thoil é. It is important that we get replies.

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