Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely agree with the Deputy that we need to cut costs for parents. I have set out clearly the mechanism by which we will do so and also deliver better pay for childcare professionals. I have not had the opportunity to study the new proposals from his party and I look forward to doing so. I recall that in respect of last year's budget, it proposed an investment of significantly less than what the Government put into the sector. I look forward to seeing it make proposals for additional funding.

We are all in agreement on the requirement to address the three main issues, that is, the need to ensure the sustainability of providers, the need to pay staff better and the need to cut costs for parents. As I have always articulated to the Deputy and others, we are working to deliver all three aims across two budgetary cycles. Through core funding, we are delivering better pay for staff and sustainability for providers. In this year's budget, we will deliver on cutting costs for parents through additional investment in the NCS.

See this speech in context