Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)

It is not news that families with young children require childcare and early years education. Why, then, are these families continuously failed by the State in the provision of those services?

In Dublin Rathdown, I am contacted regularly about childcare and early years education. Indeed, it is one of the foremost issues within my constituency. There is a shortage of available places and, rather than seeing new providers coming on stream, we are seeing more and more closures. Costs are too high for parents and providers in the sector are in real difficulty.

Young families are desperately struggling to find childcare for their children. I have been contacted by so many parents who are at their wits' end with this. Last week, a mother contacted me who, despite having her child registered before birth, struggled for months before finding childcare to allow her to return to work. Another constituent said to me: "It is not a surprise that families with young children need childcare. How is this still occurring? Young families are being failed at the very first hurdle."

The providers of childcare and early years services are also struggling in Dublin Rathdown. We have seen many of them forced to close their doors, with Mountainside Montessori in Leopardstown and Naíonra Seomra Mary in Stepaside being just two of the most recent examples. Another small provider in my constituency told me she has major concerns about the viability of her business in the coming years. She does not want to opt in to the core funding model because it does not work for her specific set-up. That means it is hard for her to see herself operating beyond another couple of years.

When childcare places can be obtained, the cost is often so high, it puts a real strain on families, with some parents being forced out of the workplace. Workers in the sector are without a pay scale or security, with retention of staff remaining a real problem for providers.

We need a public model of childcare that will address the multitude of issues being encountered. My colleague Deputy Farrelly has proposed the establishment of a cross-party committee on childcare. This would establish a short-, medium- and long-term plan for the provision of childcare in Ireland. The Government has promised to reduce childcare costs to €200 a month but it is nowhere near meeting that commitment. Families are being forced to pay hundreds of euro more than that every month. Parents all over the country find it almost impossible even to secure a place. The commitment to roll out a public model of childcare and reduce costs to €200 per month has to be more than electioneering. It must become a reality.

As someone who raised a daughter alone, I acknowledge the specific challenges faced by single parents trying to access childcare in my constituency. Both financially and logistically, it is a unique barrier to employment and, indeed, to participation in society when we provide so little support to families headed up by people parenting alone. The single biggest measure we could take to advance gender equality in the State is to provide high-quality and affordable childcare. Women still take on far more of the care role in the household than men do. When we make it hard to source external care, we penalise women and force them to decide between career and home.

What is being done to support providers in the sector? How is the deficit in childcare and early years places being addressed? Will the Government commit to establishing a cross-party committee on childcare?

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