Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to repeat anything Deputy Calleary said. Needless to say I agree with all of it but it is important that I declare an interest, not only as the father of two young children, including one currently in an ECCE scheme, but also as someone who is married to a Montessori teacher. It is not an underestimation to say that during the general election last February, which seems like ancient history now, this was the No. 1 issue in my constituency.

I imagine the demographics in the Minister's constituency are not too different. It was significant for the Minister too. Addressing the combination of cost and the lack of services and, crucially, as Deputy Calleary said, making sure that providers and staff working in these facilities are respected are important. Most people working as Montessori teachers and in childcare have level 8 and level 9 qualifications and deserve to be paid accordingly and, crucially, to have that security. It is unfair that they can work for nine months of the year and have to go on jobseeker's payments for two months of the year.

See this speech in context