Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Too many families are paying what is in many cases equivalent to a second mortgage when it comes to childcare. Having to contend with the astronomical price of childcare puts severe stress on families from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Regardless of ability to pay, there is the initial stress of sourcing a childcare provider. I am dealing with a family who live in the Dooradoyle area of Limerick. They have had to take two weeks of leave from their job because they simply cannot find a crèche with space available for their child. They are on a waiting list in several childminding facilities but have had no success in finding a place. They are organised people who have done their best to find a crèche. They did not approach this at the last minute and yet they still cannot find a place for their infant. This is not a unique situation.

I spoke today to a person in a childminding facility in Limerick who told me that it has a waiting list of more than 200 children. We have great childminding facilities in Limerick. I would specifically like to mention Our Lady of Lourdes Childworld Crèche in Ballinacurra Weston; the Northside Family Resource Centre in Ballynanty, where I grew up; and the Family Tree Crèche in the Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership on Childers Road. These are all top-class childcare facilities.

When it comes to childcare, there are two specific challenges that we as legislators must address. We must ensure that childcare is both accessible and affordable. That is why the Sinn Féin policy of €10 a day is fair, equitable and deliverable. We must ensure that our childcare professionals, who are vital in shaping the development of many young children, are rewarded fairly for the vital and caring work they do. The motion in our childcare plan, Better for Childcare, addresses both requirements. Our plan wants to give children the best start in life and allows parents to remain in work in the safe knowledge that their child is cared for safely in a secure environment.

We have been strong advocates for those working in the childcare sector for many years. Our proposals will meet the desires of childcare and of parents. The key portion of the policy that we are putting forward is €10 per day per child which is very achievable and fair.

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