Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is ar éigean is féidir le mo ghlúin íoc as cúram leanaí. Cuireann sé bac agus constaic ar dhaoine dul ag obair nó ó thaobh ioncaim de. Most parents I know who look for childcare simply cannot find it. Even if they do find it, they very often cannot afford it. The reality is that the model of childcare and early education that successive Governments have relied upon for many years was all but broken anyway. The pandemic has just made the cracks more obvious. They have become crevices.

I have a young family. My two boys are nine months and nine years of age. This is a significant issue for my generation. The cost of childcare has been allowed to spiral to eye-watering levels which simply are not affordable for ordinary families and workers. Ireland has among the highest childcare costs in the EU. It is unfair and unsustainable. Without affordable childcare, many parents, particularly mothers, are being forced out of the workplace. It is preventing people from going to work or going back to work. It is the cost of a second mortgage. It is crippling people. In many instances, the cost of childcare accounts for an entire income. Some people find that they must give up their entire income to pay for childcare in order that they can get back to work and sustain their career. People are faced with these absolutely unfair decisions.

I commend Deputy Funchion on tabling the motion. We need to decide whether we wish to treat childcare and early education as a public good and a public service. We must move towards a radical transformation. There will be significant changes in society in the coming years. Central to that has to be a model of childcare and early education that is flexible, affordable and responds to people's needs. It is in the interests of society, the economy and families. Deputy Funchion has brought forward an ambitious and comprehensive plan that involves yearly increases to ensure sustainability and reduced fees and to ensure fair and lower costs.

The situation faced by childcare workers and early years professionals is one of the major workers' rights issues in society. Níl an t-ioncam a bhfaigheann siad ceart go leor. In many instances, workers who have achieved very high qualifications, sometimes at their own cost or with very little support, are still on very low wages. The situation needs to be resolved urgently. I urge the Minister not to take the attitude taken by the previous Minister, who asked the workers to organise themselves and get a particular number of the workers involved in a union, at which stage a sectoral employment order, SEO, could be put in place. There are already significant questions over the SEO system. If the Government is to be the main funder of childcare, as is the case currently, then it needs to insist on a labour unit cost in the context of ensuring that those who are employed through its funding receive a fair wage.

It has to be built into the calculations that go into any subsidy or funding scheme. They cannot be operating on the basis of assuming the work only costs this much. The work has to be paid well. The Minister has control over that and I urge him not to wash his hands of it.

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