Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The recruitment crisis in the childcare sector is reaching crisis point. The Government must bring forward measures to assist managers and childcare operators to retain staff. Only last week, parents of 59 children in Tobercurry, County Sligo, were shocked to hear of the closure of the local crèche called Lollipop Lane. Many private operators and some community operators are choosing to leave the sector or refocus their services due to the difficulty in the childcare sector, which is a business decision. There are serious challenges such as staff retention, staff exhaustion due to the nature of the work and a lack of investment in the sector to keep services operating. The sector is ever-changing and there is no one set model, but until these issues are dealt with at a national level, services will struggle across the board. We must address these issues to ensure we can retain the number of places for children. Parents are frustrated and many will have to rethink their work arrangements. I hope this will be resolved.

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