Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government commits to supports for early childcare schemes but the reality is that the current schemes have failed to provide parents with affordable, accessible and meaningful childcare. Like housing, it would seem that the Government does not understand what affordable means for real people. We have the second lowest rate of expenditure on childcare in the OECD, for starters. The current scheme has glaring problems. It allows providers to opt out of the national childcare subsidy scheme. It has also allowed for massive increases since Covid and it has left many parents footing the total bill. In my constituency, in places such as Clancy Barracks, the local provision of childcare has just become impossible for providers such as Safari Childcare. The massive hike since Covid and the ability to opt out are causing real problems. When will we finally have a national uniform affordable public childcare system in this country?

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