Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I appreciate the Minister's comments and her clarification and confirmation that the money is ring-fenced.

Does the Minister agree that for children to achieve their full potential, they need opportunities for care and education, that key to ensuring the availability of these opportunities is the retention of qualified staff and early educators in the childcare sector, and key to this is increased rates of pay for the staff? Reports of the talks on the employment regulation order, which is necessary to implement the increased rates of pay, having stalled are concerning, both for those employed within the sector and, in particular, for parents, many of whom I have met in recent weeks in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny. I encourage the Minister to do everything she can to support every stakeholder to reach an agreement and to ensure the €45 million allocated under budget 2025 is used in full for its intended purpose, which, as the Minister said, is to support the costs of increased pay rates.

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