Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise with the Minister the precarious situation of the early years and childcare sector. We all know the great work being done by people in the sector and how important that is to everyone in society. Unfortunately, some vital childcare facilities in my constituency of County Clare had to close their doors in 2020. It was disheartening to hear the news as it came in and it is disappointing to know that they will have no opportunity to reopen. Many others are struggling to keep their businesses afloat.

Childcare and early years professionals are some of the lowest paid in the wider educational sector and are now back at work with little or no protection. Ireland is at the bottom of the European league in terms of childcare investment. Budget 2021 did nothing to address that, which was disappointing. This disappointment was felt by all staff members and operators in the sector. The majority of the sector's employees do not get sick pay and earn less than the living wage. It remains difficult to attract prospective employees, which leaves the sector in a difficult situation.

In recent weeks, I have received emails from many concerned professionals in the sector who feel they have been treated differently than the wider educational sector in terms of a lack of personal protective equipment, PPE. The most pressing issue being raised with me is the fact that workers in the childcare and early years profession have been placed 11th on the vaccination priority list. However, I welcome the Minister's comments in that regard. Early years educators and childcare staff are essential front-line workers. They are not required to wear face masks and they cannot practise social distancing despite that being common sense. This makes them vulnerable in their line of work. Those with underlying health conditions or who have family members with such conditions still have go to work. I urge the Minister to fight for these workers and have their place on the priority list reviewed.

I wish to raise a few issues on the back of several recent announcements about the reopening of special education. Parents like me have been at home and have been the only platform, as it were, from which our children can seek answers and gain a better understanding of what is happening in society. We are doing our best to protect them, but we have had difficult conversations with them, and we are still having difficult conversations with them, and we have tried to find ways of explaining what is happening to them. It is difficult for parents as well as other children in the family to watch the regression of a child in need and see a lack of support and therapy. I will take this opportunity to ask the Minister to review the local supports and services that are in place for children with special needs. They have gone a long time without speech and language therapy, for example.

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