John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and Minister of State and I compliment them on how nimbly they have responded over the period of their responsibility in relation to the pandemic. A number of questions I wanted to ask have been addressed, so I will not go back over them. There might be one or two questions but the bulk of my contribution will be by way of statement.

The area of childcare has been problematic in Ireland for many years in terms of funding. A previous Minister for Finance sought to deal with the exorbitant cost of childcare in the early 2000s, which approached - as it does now - the cost of a second mortgage, by putting more cash in the pockets of parents through a significant increases in children's allowances. That subdued the discussion for a long period while the economy was roaring. Once those measures were introduced, there was very little reference in subsequent election campaigns from parents to the cost of childcare because it had been covered by the significant increases in children's allowances, much of which has been reduced.

According to a well-worn phrase, it is only when the tide recedes that we see who is not wearing swimming trunks. We heard during a debate earlier today a number of references to a tsunami in respect of children's mental health. It is a word used to describe what we are going through in a range of sectors and Departments and the challenges that face Ministers, but it is only when the tsunami recedes that we will see how childcare has been exposed. We need to have a serious conversation about that and to learn from it. The State has stepped up to the mark - that cannot be understated - and I compliment the Ministers on acting so swiftly in the six or seven months they have been office. Nevertheless, the figures being invested by the State, despite the State owning nothing in the sector, amount to another example of the State keeping education, health and childcare at arm's length. It has been forced, as a result of the pandemic, and rightly so, to honour the unwritten contract between citizens and the State that guarantees that childcare will be delivered. It is well past time.

Looking at the figures, the EWSS rates have been in place since October 2020. The EWSS is estimated to cover 80% of the payroll costs or 50% of the full operating costs of these services and to cost the State €7 million per week. That amounts in a full year to €364 million. Imagine the State childcare sector that could be provided for €350 million annually. I have advocated for this since 2013 and 2014, in my time as a councillor. There was a massive rapid school-building programme in this country. We ought to have taken advantage of that time to co-locate childcare facilities on primary school sites and make them one-stop shops.

As the Minister pointed out, the EWSS covers 80% of payroll and 50% of the full operating costs. In suburbia and the cities, one of the highest costs for childcare providers is the capital cost, whether in the form of the mortgage or the repayments. If the State stepped in, with a real partnership providing the infrastructure but employing a blended service of public and private sector workers to operate and manage that, suddenly an awful lot more money could be in place to support those front-line childcare workers.

One issue the receding tide has exposed is that the economy simply cannot function without childcare and we have to put a value on that. Perhaps it is something that, in the interim period, the Minister could begin work on and perhaps he could do something radical. The State has shown that in a time of crisis, it will produce whatever funding is needed to support this essential service, so why does the State not get directly involved in providing this service, whether in the workplace for civil and public servants or by co-locating on school sites and other infrastructural sites such as community centres? We could grasp this nettle and something really positive could emerge from it.

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