Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also commend Deputy Funchion on bringing the Bill before the House. I welcome the chance to talk about it because I referred to it last week as we were making the case to the Government to think again about increasing excise this month, given the pressures families and businesses are under.

Despite the overwhelming challenge that faces families, the pace with which a meaningful response has issued has not reflected the urgency of the situation for many. I was contacted recently by a doctor who told me that, like many others, the crèche to which she sends her two young children will close in solidarity with this campaign. The crèche has a staffing shortage due to the difficulty it experiences in attracting qualified graduates to the sector because of the rate of pay. Another parent spoke of the closure of the baby room in a community provider because of staff shortages as well. These are the same providers who will pay increased overheads with less in the way of income because poor pay is driving highly qualified childcare staff out of their careers.

Parents are paying more in every direction to cope with the pressures. Sky-high childcare fees are now forcing some parents to stay away from work or further education, and when that choice must be made it is predominantly women who take the brunt. We are talking about an issue that has profound consequences throughout families. Parents just want affordable, local and high-quality childcare, and they want it now. For these reasons, we urge the Minister to keep his word on decreasing fees by a further 25% in the coming budget and support all providers, private and community, to ensure that their services remain viable.

Furthermore, when childcare providers signed up to the new core funding model last year, we warned the Minister not to leave them high and dry, yet we hear the sector highlight how the core funding scheme does not adequately cover the cost of the increased overheads.

The Minister has asked what Sinn Féin would do. We would cut childcare fees for families by two thirds from 2022 levels to make them affordable for parents by increasing public investment. Furthermore, fee reduction under Sinn Féin would be underpinned by legislation and controlled through contractual agreement with providers. In the Minister's response he said that by every metric the Government is on the right track when it comes to childcare. In the same statement he talked about establishing a new group. It is not very encouraging that the Department has to establish a new group after three years. I know the Minister means well, and I have worked with him on other things. I ask him to take meaningful action now, make childcare affordable on a private and community basis and allow families to function as they are supposed to do.

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