Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I do not doubt for a second that there is a genuine commitment across the Government to address the issue. How could there not be? It is a fundamental issue. However, I do not think it is working. The ECCE rates of €69 per week per child have clearly not been sustainable. I do not doubt the level of money that is being pumped into the childcare sector, but the outcomes are still the same. We have a crisis, and a crisis requires innovation in terms of how we respond. The páistecare model outlined by Deputy Farrelly is one workable solution if we can get around to developing a plan that is co-ordinated and agreed from all political parties because it is something that impacts all of us.

Audits of buildings through our city councils where there might be sites available is something we need if we are to make sure there is proper capital investment and identify locations in which childcare facilities can emerge where there were none previously. We must make childcare core infrastructure as part of every new development. There are 600-unit developments going up around the Docklands and no childcare facilities are being included. That is something we need to address.

I represent a constituency that is growing all the time, where women who are eager to get back to work need childcare places provided. This comes up as the number one issue at public meetings and at doors we knock on. We require a hell of a lot more innovation. Where we have childcare providers, we cannot lose them. There are examples of that in Stoneybatter. We certainly cannot lose anymore. Where operators are removing themselves from the market, the State has to step in and provide adequate childcare provision. We need innovation. We need to do more than just throw money at a bad system. We need proper planning, co-ordination and implementation.

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