Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Government put on paper its commitment to progressively reducing the cost of childcare to €200 per month through the national childcare scheme. As the Tánaiste knows, young families are desperately struggling to get a place, and if they do they face crippling costs. Our childcare and early years education sector is in a precarious situation with regard to recruitment and retention. I hope the Government is considering pay parity with their colleagues in education for early years workers. The Tánaiste is on the record as saying that the model of childcare and early childhood education in Ireland need to be in the public space. Given that public commitment to the sector, the crucial importance of the sector and with committees being actively considered, will the Government consider the establishment of "páistecare", a Sláintecare approach to what is very important work, and to spell out a cross-party and long-term vision for what childcare and early years education will look like in Ireland?

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