Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a short statement and about four questions. I am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate.

I will start by making a special mention of our early years and childcare professionals, who often feel forgotten and overlooked. They often feel undervalued and ignored. They have been back at work for several weeks now. They have reopened their sector for essential workers and vulnerable children as the third wave of this horrible pandemic rages through the country. Ironically, tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of 30,000 childcare professionals, crèche owners, various practitioners and parents marching though Dublin to demand better terms and conditions. The service they have provided to essential workers and vulnerable children has been so important and a lifeline for so many families. They have really stepped up to the challenges posed by Covid-19, and many services have taken in older children, of school age, to try to help facilitate front-line workers.

Early years and childcare professionals were absolutely essential in alleviating the stress many parents felt during the last wave we went through. Their skills, their professionalism and the contribution they make to the education of young children are invaluable. I sincerely thank them for their commitment but they want more than just thanks and admiration; they want and deserve better pay and conditions and they want their work to be valued through action by the Government. They want their voices to be heard.

We continue to have a broken childcare system that has been underfunded. The unfortunate reality, which I hear daily, is that people feel the Government does not value early years and childcare professionals. I am aware and appreciate that there has been much focus on protecting people's lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of this terrible disease on our health, freedom, liberty, home-grown businesses, children and mental health, including our children’s mental health cannot be overstated. When we look at the list, we see it is endless. The disease has had an impact on every aspect of our lives. It has, however, presented us with a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely overhaul the current childcare system. The reality is there can be no recovery without a properly funded childcare sector that works for everybody, a strategy that does not simply patch up what we have but that thinks big and is brave.

I am conscious of time so I will move on to my questions. Ironically, my first one covers much of what I have said about wages and terms and conditions for early years educators and childcare professionals. Now that we have the wage subsidy scheme in place, can the Government commit to continuing it after the pandemic? Obviously, the payments would need to be increased and we would need to see a proper wage scale in place.

I have three more questions but I am conscious of the time.

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