Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to discuss the future of the 30 county childcare committees throughout the Twenty-six Counties. On 27 July, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy O'Gorman, announced a review of the current model to support the delivery of accessible, affordable and high-quality early learning and care and school-aged childcare services. Part of the review was to examine the architecture of the administration of the various childcare schemes and institutions, with a remit to recommend improvements based on the principle of best practice. This process, which forms part of the programme for Government commitment to devise a workforce development plan and a new funding model, was opened for consultation in mid-August and is to close on 2 October.

There was a recent article in The Sunday Business Post. I will not read it all, but I will highlight the comments in one section. According to the article, there are more than 30 county childcare committees operating at an annual cost of €11 million, which may well need to be axed to make way for the proposed Childcare Ireland. The article also asserts that the civil servants in the Minister's Department are distinctly unenthusiastic about these committees and have stated in briefing notes that the childcare committee structure does not lend itself to providing the national consistency sought by the Department. This concerns me greatly, because it appears that the outcome of the process has been determined before the consultation has even finished.

Although civil servants might feel that county childcare committees do not lend themselves to providing the national consistency sought by the Department, has consideration been given to the idea that one size might not fit all in the provision of support to local early years and school-aged services and parents? Needs vary from county to county and even within counties, from town to town, where local relationships are vital to supporting the sector. I was involved in setting up an afterschool service in my local area a number of years ago. Based on that experience, I know the supports that county childcare committees give and the significant work done behind the scenes by voluntary committees. Alongside a number of others, my wife is involved in providing support to such a scheme.

I know the Longford County Childcare Committee extensively. It has collaborated with a number of local agencies on promoting specific initiatives in our communities, including the Longford Sports Partnership, Music Generation Longford, the refugee resettlement programme and intercultural working groups, to name a few.The priority should be to increase pay in the childcare sector. That is where the issues lie and those problems need to be sorted. Further investment is needed in childcare to bring pay to a certain level, rather than dismantling a structure that works in communities and the childcare sector.