Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)

While I appreciate the Minister of State's response, it is disappointing there is nobody here from the Department of children. I welcome the statistics she shared that show an increase in provision of places and the work being done to address the problems. However, as she knows, that increase is not keeping pace with the needs of families across the country, including in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown.

We have seen tweaks in the childcare system, with attempts to address one shortfall here opening up another elsewhere. It is not working. We need radical reform. My colleague Deputy Farrelly's proposal, páistecare, is a plan for childcare that is like what Sláintecare was supposed to be for the healthcare system. It is a transformational approach that will supersede shifts and changes of policy and approach under successive governments. It will lock in cross-party support to transform childcare provision in the State. I urge the Government to consider it.

As a State, we are missing a trick when it comes to artificial intelligence, AI. At a meeting today of the AI committee, of which I am a member, we spoke about the labour displacement we all know is coming down the tracks as a result of AI. Childcare is one of the sectors that is untouchable by AI. None of the caring professions, including teaching and childcare, can be automated. However, we need to value the childcare profession. Right now, we do not pay workers enough. The sector offers only precarious employment, mostly to women, including migrant women. We do not value it enough as a society to capitalise on the labour displacement we will see elsewhere.

I ask again that the Government commit to a cross-party committee that will bring together everyone across the political spectrum to put forward a short-, medium- and long-term vision for the transformation to a public model of childcare provision in this country.

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