Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)

I thank Deputy Kerrane and her colleagues in Sinn Féin for proposing this motion. We have had many conversations about childcare in recent months since I have been the spokesperson for childcare but, more importantly, since my time as a parent to three young children. I have been really interested in the similarities that face the early years education and childcare sector with the healthcare sector and the transformation we have seen in that sector in recent years. In the last couple of months I have met many key stakeholders in the sector including service providers, workers, parents, unions and associations that represent the sector. The common theme across all these meetings has been a lack of vision for what the future of early years childcare looks like. In summary, with the greatest respect to it, it is only the Government that thinks what is going on in childcare and early years policy is working. Everyone else has identified significant structural issues which face the sector. That is why we fully support the motion this evening and have tabled an amendment to add to it in relation to how we believe we might roadmap the future and the vision for early years education and childcare in Ireland.

The programme for Government was relatively weak in that regard. It hung itself up on the idea of cost but ignored the real issue of recruitment and retention, as well as that of capacity. I acknowledge the Minister of State’s words about the Government’s efforts to acquire public buildings to increase that capacity but it is stopping quite short of developing what should be a public good. The partnership for the public good report acknowledged that childcare and early years is a public good. Access to that or to any public good should not rely on luck. From speaking to many parents and having experienced it myself, I know that often it does come down to luck, that is if a space comes up and if you have been on the waiting list for long enough. Capacity is an issue that continues.

I commend the work of the alliance, which I have met as, I am sure, have others, of the National Women’s Council and the 40 other organisations that are trying to achieve something monumental in the shift in public childcare and early years education. Again, this is something we support but we are really enthusiastic about what a roadmap to that would look like. That is why we tabled our amendment.

We believe it is time for the idea of páistecare. This would be the equivalent to what Sláintecare was for the healthcare system in Ireland many years ago. We hear similar rhetoric and Government policy to the effect that we have record levels of spending in early years and childcare and have reduced capacity issues in some places. We have a real momentum behind the policy but we do not have the vision. What Sláintecare did was provide a vision for the future of healthcare in Ireland. We believe it is time to bring everybody to the table for a special Oireachtas committee on early years education and childcare in order that we could map what that vision looks like, whether it is public or hybrid; whether it is hearing the voices of the workers, service providers, parents and the higher education institutions that are preparing the professionals to go out but that often watch these graduates choose a different career because there is something quite unsustainable about choosing a career of early years education and childcare right now.

I appeal to the Minister of State. I will move my amendment and hopefully it will pass and then we could look at forming that special committee. Over the lifetime of this Government we have an opportunity to progress something that would not only speak to Sinn Féin’s motion and the wider work the alliance seeks to achieve in the public model of childcare and early years education but also would give the Government the opportunity to hear directly in a formal way and bring recommendations to this House as to what that vision would look like. I would appreciate careful consideration being given to our amendment to the motion this evening.

It is right that childcare and equality are part of the same Department because this is an issue of equality. It is not just geographical equality but also what happens to young families, to children and particularly to young mothers when they do not have access to childcare and early years education for their kids. They are locked out of work, education and opportunities to play roles in society that they would like to achieve. I know it is work the Minister of State would like to achieve and Deputy Kerrane also is passionate about this issue. We have the opportunity to do something during the term of this Government but first I would begin by stating there are significant deficits. If we start with that and commit to that roadmap with a special committee for páistecare we have the opportunity to move something very positive this evening.

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