Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I had all my points ready on the stuff I was going to give out about, but I do not have to say them now. It is great to come in and hear about progress on an issue. That is really welcome. Issues were raised in offices and elsewhere but they were also raised at the committee, as the Minister is aware. The Association of Childhood Professionals and the Federation of Early Childhood Providers brought it up. It is good to see the right thing was done, people sat around the table and came up with solutions.

From what the Minister says, it does seem there was broad agreement at the meetings which were attended by a number of representative groups. That is very welcome. The Minister himself acknowledged that it was not that anyone was doubting the need for oversight and accountability it was just the fact that, as we often raise in here, it involved more of a burden in terms of paperwork and administrative work for the early years sector. It is great that there is an extension of the timeframe and some agreement on how it will work. If it is okay, I might raise the pay talks in my next contribution.

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