Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

Care in this country is met with rhetoric rather than resources. At the start of this year we had the care referendum, when the Government promised a new era, but when we look at the delivery of care, including children in State care which I mentioned earlier, nursing home care and childcare, we see that resources are not nearly enough to deliver what should be a decent level of care in these sectors. The provision of childcare is a public good but it is more than this. It is a necessity for many families who simply cannot get off the economic treadmill that necessitates them paying their mortgages. If they did, the whole world would come tumbling down.

There is a parallel universe on the issue of childcare. For sure the Government will speak about increased investment in childcare and the fact it has reduced fees in the sector. The truth is that when we speak to providers and parents in the sector, they will say it is far harder for providers to exist and far harder for parents to access childcare. The reason is that many of these providers have had their incomes and fees frozen but they have increased input costs. This is making it less viable for them to function. In the second quarter of this year, 31 childcare services in Dublin closed down. This is mirrored throughout the country. It is a trend that has been happening for years. Every time I raise this with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, it is very frustrating because there is a straitjacket instinct that the Government is providing money, more money is going in, it is less costly on parents and this is where the issue stops. It should not stop there. The Taoiseach mentioned he wants to be a Taoiseach for small businesses. He should realise that small businesses are being hammered with increased input costs. Only childcare seems to have the fees frozen also, which is a double whammy for the sector. I ask the Taoiseach to take this issue seriously and to make sure we have a system whereby the providers of childcare and workers in childcare are properly compensated for the service they deliver so there are more services and families can access them.

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