David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response and congratulate him on the work he and his Department are doing on this important area. Has he or his Department carried out any audit of areas in the country to identify black spots where it is very hard for people to find childcare, crèches and so on, and if so, is that information available? One thing I came across when I was canvassing recently was the number of parents who are under an awful lot of pressure trying to find facilities, services and registered childcare providers, and it was put to me that some registered childcare providers were opting out of the core funding. Will the Minister confirm whether that is the case, and if so, does he have numbers on it?

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