Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)

I want to be clear. This is a commitment over the lifetime of the Government. The more quickly we take steps the better, and the more quickly we will be able to deliver.

In the fewer than five months during which the Government has been in office, we have taken the first very significant step regarding fee caps. We should not underestimate the significance of fee caps. Families who, prior to this, were paying €325 saw a reduction to €295, and with the subsidy they are now paying less than €200 per week. That is an example of the trajectory we wish to follow.

I also acknowledge that, while we were doing that for the significant number of people paying very high fees, the fee freeze remains in place for the others. There are a number of different streams. The objective is to ensure the costs for parents are affordable, there are sufficient places and staff in the sector are being remunerated appropriately.

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