Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

We have been working on this together over the past while. We meant what we said during the election. Having a childcare system that is fit for purpose, empowers parents, is affordable and accessible, and has quality at its heart is a core priority for this Government. If we can get this right over the course of this Government, we can transform childcare in a way that other parts of society and our education system have been transformed in years gone by. The first step is that the Minister will before the end of the year publish an action plan for 2026, detailing what she believes we will be able to get done in 2026, what immediate measures can be taken with the allocations she received in the budget. Early in 2026, she will publish the comprehensive action plan that knits together the 22 commitments in the programme for Government and looks at how we get to the €200 per month per child, which is doable, and how we also make sure there are places, how we use our planning system to drive that, and how we empower parents, recognising it cannot be one-size-fits-all. Childminding works for some people, private crèches or community crèches work for others. A whole variety of situations can happen and we have to empower the parent as well. I am very excited about the work we can get done over the lifetime of this Government, with a comprehensive action plan published in early 2026.

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