Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Claire Kerrane and Kathleen Funchion for developing our childcare policy. Childcare is an essential linchpin in the creation and sustaining of a good, healthy society. The benefits are enormous to any state or country. The added value is immeasurable and is a solid social investment in the future of our citizens. Childcare is the fundamental block to building and sustaining cohesion, a stable society and a strong economy. This is why Sinn Féin has tabled this motion.

The cost of childcare five days a week is running at an average of €800 per month and in some of our larger cities and towns it is well over €1,000, which is almost the equivalent of a second mortgage. We are proposing to increase the subsidy under the national childcare scheme to €10 a day per child and thereby reduce the €800 average cost to €200 per month. In tandem, we must pay a decent wage to early years educators, who are the most valuable people in the entire process, yet the lowest-paid in their profession. In the interim, we are in favour of a publicly funded model and bringing early years and school-age care graduates within public sector pay and conditions, in line with teachers. We propose initially for early educators an hourly increase of €1.50, which is badly needed to retain the workers in this area, followed by a commitment to further increases on an annual basis, subject to negotiations with the sector. We will cap the price of childcare, as that is good practice used in several other European countries.

Suddenly, in the Government amendment, the Minister had a road to Damascus moment and is going to introduce it fully next year. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have been in power for over 14 years now and during that time have managed to reach some of the highest childcare costs in Europe. In my constituency of Wexford, working parents and guardians alike are finding it almost impossible to find places for their children. The social enterprise model must be used to source vacant and unused buildings to increase the capacity in local communities, especially in rural areas. Last of all, we would extend the parents' leave and benefit schemes to allow them to remain with their babies for longer in the first year of their lives. I ask Deputies to please support this motion.

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