Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin will support the Childcare Support Bill 2017. It marks an important step in the right direction to bringing our childcare provisions to a more formalised standing and to give certainty to a sector, the instability of which has seen childcare costs spiral out of control. Sinn Féin wants to see childcare costs reduced and we believe this can only be achieved through State subsidies and investment.Childcare costs disproportionately affect working class communities, single parents, young mothers and young families en masse. We want fair pay and conditions for workers in the sector where the average pay, only €10.27 per hour, is less than the living wage. The Government has consistently failed to get to grips with this issue and the Bill does nothing to address it. While the Minister has stated numerous times that the Department does not dictate wage levels, the Government dictates the standards and conditions that are to be met by childcare providers. A discussion is needed about the lack of fair standards and conditions for those who choose childcare as a career.

Sinn Féin is also concerned regarding the delay in implementing the information technology system for the new scheme. I understand it will not be in place before the commencement of the scheme in September. In the meantime, childcare providers will administer the scheme, which generates additional costs and adds to their workload. The funding allocated makes no provision for this additional burden. I hope the Minister is mindful of this and her Department provides the utmost assistance in this matter.

Furthermore, while the Minister assures us that the scheme is open to Tusla registered childminders, much more needs to be done to encourage childminders to register with Tusla. Obviously, we do not want a scenario to develop in which the State subsidises people who are not subject to regulation and oversight. This is an area on which work must be done in the period ahead. In the medium to long term, the State needs to move beyond simply subsidising private providers towards a publicly-funded system.

I commend the Minister on accepting a number of Sinn Féin amendments tabled by Deputies Denise Mitchell and Kathleen Funchion during the Dáil Stages of the Bill, particularly on the issue of holding a review of the scheme after 12 months and providing supports for vulnerable children. I hope to continue this positive relationship as the Bill proceeds through the Seanad.