Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As she knows, there is a childcare and early years education strike happening today. Of the 4,000 childcare providers in the State, we understand that 5%, or probably fewer, are participating in the action today. That is important to point out. The action is being supported by only one organisation, the Federation of Early Childhood Providers. We acknowledge absolutely that there are real challenges and pressures in the childcare and early education sector. The administrative burden has increased, putting a lot of pressure on the time providers and professionals have to provide their service. Of course, funding for any service is always a challenge. We acknowledge those things too but of course they can be resolved. We believe the best way to resolve them is through co-operation and the early years forum, which the Minister attends and which met as recently as last week. We do not believe this action by one organisation is warranted. It is causing great inconvenience for parents, particularly parent who have had to take time off work or even annual leave to look after their children while the strike by this particular group is under way.

The Government has prioritised investment in childcare like no other. Over €1 billion per year is now being invested in childcare and early-years education. That will, of course, increase for next year in the budget, but this has to be done within the parameters of a 6.2% overall increase in spending, to which I believe the Deputy's party has signed up and agreed. She might clarify whether that is the case.

We have three objectives when it comes to childhood and early-years care in Ireland: to make it more affordable, to make it more available and to ensure that quality and standards improve. We reduced the cost of childcare for the vast majority of parents by roughly 25% last year. I know this has been very welcome and has really helped with many household budgets. We seek to reduce the cost further in the forthcoming budget. We are looking at ways to make it more available. In my constituency and many other parts of the country, getting a place at all can be a big challenge. We are looking at interventions to increase availability over the next couple of years.

We are raising standards and quality all the time. One of the ways we are doing that is by improving the terms and conditions of people who work in the sector. There is now an employment regulation order ensuring there is a salary scale and proper minimum terms and conditions for this sector. About 70% of childcare and early education professionals received a pay increase last year, and I would imagine this will be the case in the year to come. This is an area the Government is committed to and is working on. It is prioritising affordability, availability and quality and we do not think the action that is taking place, which is only supported by a minority of childcare providers, is warranted.

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