Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The key sentences in the Minister of State's reply are, "However, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth does not own or operate early learning and childcare services. These services are privately operated." In reality, the Minister of State is saying we have a significant crisis on the northside of Cork, 100 families have been left without childcare, people are trying to manage this situation, hold down jobs and cannot get into other childcare facilities, and the State does not take direct responsibility for resolving the situation. This is the reason childcare and early learning in this State needs to come under the remit of the Department of Education and needs to be directly provided by the State so that the situation that pertains in primary education, where we do not have a crisis every August and September over a primary school being up in a heap but there is continuity of service, will apply to preschool as well.

However, I cannot let the Minister of State off the hook. The State has a responsibility here and Government TDs in particular will be watched very carefully by parents. Elections are coming up next year. How do they respond to this? There needs to be an intervention by the Department and the State to ensure whatever building changes happen in Churchfield are done rapidly and every assistance is given. I will continue to put the pressure on for alternative childcare arrangements. This crisis is not going to go away for those families.

I welcome that the Minister of State said she would get back to me about AIM. The children of people who have it need access to it if they get into another facility. If necessary, special measures need to be put in place for those situations. Those 14 workers are hugely valued by the community and I will be watching like a hawk to see they get their jobs back and can continue providing that service.

See this speech in context