Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)

Forty years ago, when I was first elected to Clonmel corporation, one of the first issues I dealt with was childcare. I said at the time that a public childcare service was the solution to what was even then a difficult issue. After more than 25 years involvement in community childcare services in Elm Park in Clonmel, I am more convinced than ever that the public system is the only solution. Over time, other agencies have come to a similar view, including the citizens’ assembly, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and Together for Public, in which 43 civic society organisations have come together, including the National Women’s Council, trade unions, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and early childhood organisations. A new public system could learn valuable lessons from our service in Elm Park in Clonmel. Clever Clogs, as it is known, is community based and provides a quality childcare service in a purpose-built unit. It is supported by the local community, with a local board of management and committed staff and parents. It receives exceptional support from the county childcare committee. As a board member, I express my thanks and appreciation to all the staff involved in childcare and all the parents involved in Clever Clogs and childcare in Clonmel.

There are huge challenges, as the Minister obviously knows, in the area of early childcare. Some of these include deficiencies in capacity, with thousands of children on waiting lists; parents paying anything up to €1,000 per month for childcare costs; poor pay and conditions for staff; and serious problems in recruitment and retention of staff. The current situation is untenable. A SIPTU trade union survey of staff in 2024 found that 86% identified low pay as their biggest work issue. Some 68% identified pressure due to staff shortages, while 65% identified stress and burnout. Managers in the services identified recruitment and retention of staff as the most critical challenge facing the sector, with the possibility of room and service closures.

Childcare must be viewed as a right for all, not as a commercial service. That means the roll-out of publicly funded and delivered childcare services, better pay and conditions for early educators, who should be paid directly by the State, and a guaranteed legal right to affordable, accessible and universal early education for every child.

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