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

On the issue of childcare fees, providers that are in the scheme have reduced their fees by approximately 25% and will reduce them by a further 25% in September. Providers that are outside the scheme are different because we do not control their fees. Even if we had a fully State-run system, I imagine there would still be private crèches and private childcare providers, unless one made them illegal, which I do not think anyone is proposing. I do not have a proper read on the number of childcare providers that are pulling out of the scheme. That is something on which I will have to make inquiries to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. It might be a very small number, in which case it would be one type of problem. If it is a very large number, it would be a very different problem.

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