Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to use my couple of minutes to wholeheartedly support the motion brought forward by my colleague, Deputy Funchion, but also to raise a major childcare issue that is ongoing in my constituency. We all accept that we are in a childcare crisis that has been caused by long-term Government inaction and compounded by the Covid emergency. Sadly, I did not hear anything tonight from either Minister that would give me any optimism that we will see any real improvement or change in the near future.

We have a situation in Togher, County Louth, where a facility called Scallywags that provides crèche services and afterschool care for children in the locality has closed down. The service is run by the Togher Community Project and it is a limited not-for-profit company and registered charity. The 40 parents and the 14 full and part-time staff members who have now lost their jobs were informed of the closure out of the blue by a text message. Parents and staff believe that the business is viable and say that it has cash reserves of €450,000. Media reports say that the Garda has launched an investigation. Media reports also say that the board of management of the crèche blame the pandemic for the closure of the business. It is unacceptable that community crèches under the remit of the Department and in receipt of significant State investment would close under those circumstances. Parents and staff were not even consulted so it is important that the Government is on top of this issue and ensures that it is not happening at a time when childcare is already in a shambolic state. I have sent all the details to the Minister and I will send them to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, also. I trust that both Ministers will look into the matter given its urgency. In general terms we need to ensure that these services are accountable and that parents and staff can feel secure with local community services. I trust that the Ministers will revert to me on this issue and ensure that their offices leave no stone unturned to make sure that this viable community crèche stays open.

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