Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Currie for her work as Fine Gael spokesperson on childcare and as part of the Government's collective effort on childcare. The programme for Government is ambitious in this area. As we have discussed before, there are around 21 commitments in relation to childcare. The next step will be the publication of a new action plan on childcare and how we intend to advance it. I broadly agree with the Deputy. We do not want a system that is overly rigid. We have to have a system that recognises parents need to be empowered in what works best for their child. The idea that one model designed in an office is the model that will work best for everyone does not work. Community childcare providers have a significant role to play. We have not seen a level of growth, which should be an indication in and of itself as we carry out this review. Yes is the answer to the Deputy's question. We will ensure the community model is specifically examined in the context of that review and we will look at issues like core funding and high levels of administration and how that could be a barrier to an expansion of a sector doing good work in many counties.

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