Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of all the problems individual childcare centres have in increasing capacity and keeping going. I am also aware of how poorly paid and treated many childcare workers are, albeit that improvements are taking place.

The last woman who contacted me about this prompted me to ask the question. She was stressed out of her mind about the fact that she could not get a place for her 17 month-old child. It looks like she will have to give up her job. She is a relatively young woman. She wants to keep her career. We want women and men to be out working in the workforce. We are short of workers. The whole of society benefits from that. However, she will have to give up her job because no places are available at all in Dublin South Central for one child to be minded. This is disgraceful. If we cannot increase capacity with a sense of urgency, we should look at the system by which we are trying to do it.

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