Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

recognises:

— the importance of affordable, accessible and reliable childcare or childminding arrangements for working families, society and the wider economy;

— the crucial role that childcare professionals play in shaping the future of our children; and

— that childcare is an essential service and it is time it was given the investment and priority that it needs;

notes that:

— after 14 years of a Fine Gael Government childcare costs remain too high, with some parents paying the equivalent of "a second mortgage";

— these high costs are unfair and unsustainable; and

— thousands of children are on waiting lists for childcare places across the State, many that do not exist;

furthermore notes other countries cap the price of childcare and it is a time to do it in Ireland where parents pay some of the highest childcare costs in Europe; and

calls on the Government to:

— make childcare more affordable for parents by increasing the subsidy under the National Childcare Scheme to deliver €10 a day childcare per child;

— increase pay for Early Years Educators and all grades initially by €1.50, and commit to annual pay increases to give certainty and retain professionals in the sector;

— urgently increase capacity in the sector by accelerating the process in which childminders can provide the subsidy to parents and incorporate the social enterprise model to make use of vacant and underused buildings to increase capacity in the community; and

— extend Parent's Leave and Benefit schemes to ensure parents have the choice to remain with their baby in the first year of life.

I am glad to bring this motion to the House this evening. It is important that we keep the conversation that has been ongoing in the past week, in particular on childcare, going, especially as we approach the budget. Of course, parents, educators and providers need a lot more than conversation and "half-baked" policies with no substance, to use the words of the Tánaiste. That is why Sinn Féin published a costed, comprehensive plan last week. I am glad to have the opportunity this evening to bring forward the key proposals in the Sinn Féin plan for childcare to the floor of the Dáil.

No matter how many times the Government tells us that it has cut childcare fees in half, they remain outrageously high. The fact that fees are 50% less now than what they were shows how much higher they were to begin with.

A survey published by the Irish Independent in April last showed that monthly childcare fees in some parts of the State are up to €1,500. For the parents affected, cutting fees in half is frankly irrelevant. These fees are unsustainable and unfair and are costs for parents during a cost-of-living crisis. That is a fact in relation to where things stand on fees. There is something wrong when we are spending €1.1 billion of taxpayers' money on childcare, yet taxpayers are paying up to €1,500 a month for childcare. That needs to be looked at.

I hope the Minister will consider our proposal to have childcare provided for €10 per day. It is a game-changer and it would be transformative for the childcare sector. It would bring down fees to a capped amount, and that would be it. It would make childcare affordable once and for all and ensure that no parent would pay more than €200 a month. That would make a huge difference to parents and children, to the preparation of children going into school and to their development.

Our plan also recognises that reducing the cost addresses only one part of the problem. People have to be able to access childcare in the first place. I recently met with representatives of Chartered Accountants Ireland. Its members are struggling to access childcare. They said it is as big an issue as housing in some parts of the country and it is one the organisation has to look at on behalf of its members. I met representatives of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation today. They also raised childcare and the real difficulties that nurses and midwives are having in accessing it as well as the inflexibility that is there in some cases.

We have major deficiencies in capacity. There are over 33,000 children on waiting lists for childcare places. In many instances, places simply do not exist. For the 6,663 children aged under one year who are on waiting lists, there are only 223 places available. These are the facts in relation to the current situation.

Our plan proposes immediate actions that we can take to build capacity quickly. The first part of that is paying our early years educators properly and what they deserve. I note the Minister's amendment refers to increasing wages in the sector. The last wage increase for early years educators took effect this year and amounted to 65 cent. It took 14 months to negotiate and they got 65 cent. That is a slap in the face for these professionals who we need in the sector, which would not exist without them. In some cases, childcare providers have enough physical space but have closed rooms because they do not have enough staff. According to a SIPTU survey from July this year, 30% of managers are having problems recruiting and 42% of managers are concerned about room closures. If we want to have professionals and retain them in the sector, we have to pay them. We are committing to the SIPTU ask. In fact, we are exceeding it, in that we are committing to a €1.50 per hour increase initially and making a commitment to further increases. If we want to retain professionals in the sector, we have to pay them. By the way, the pay increase in 2023 was zero.

As regards improving conditions, earlier today when I asked an early years educator what conditions had improved, she said none at all. Apart from statutory sick pay for every worker in the country, early years educations have not had any improvement in conditions. That is an area we have to look at if we are to improve and increase capacity. It is something we can do quickly.

I hope the Minister will consider our proposal in relation to the social enterprise model and looking at the many vacant and underused buildings, particularly community centres. That is a way in which we can bring the community with us on childcare. It works and exists already. I hope the Minister will look at that proposal.

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