Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy knows, the JLC process is an independent process. We have improved it by the State stepping up and saying clearly to the parties that if they get a pay agreement, we will back it up in terms of meeting some of the extra wage costs for providers. It was disappointing that it took 14 months last time. I was very clear in what I announced yesterday that the allocation for staff pay is dependent on the ERO. The money will only flow to the services if we have that ERO in place. People working in the services say to me when I meet them that staffing is their biggest pressure. We are stepping up with money to support staff pay but I am very clear that we need the ERO in place. We are saying this now to ensure there is plenty of time for the process to kick-start and deliver on time. I and whoever succeeds me in my role must be very clear that we want to support that. As we go forward on an annual basis, we hope to provide an additional core funding allocation just for pay, which will subsequently translate into a pay increase for our amazing childcare professionals.

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