Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Everyone is welcome. The Senator knows we are the most welcoming county in the country.

I also welcome the recent announcement of the Brexit adjustment local authority fund, where we had approval for seven projects throughout the county, including Ballina Quay, Rosmoney Pier and Killala Harbour to name but a few. We are a large coastal county so money like this is very important. We are trying at present to update our marine strategy and our marine policy, and encourage local fishing communities to survive and thrive in what is a very important part of our local economy. I wish those projects well.

I would like to raise an issue which, I suggest, we might put on the agenda at some point for discussion in the Chamber, namely, the ongoing cost of childcare and access to childcare places. My little boy started in crèche yesterday. Thankfully, we were very lucky to get a place in a brilliant local facility. I feel fortunate to have that place for him but many families are struggling to get childcare places and when they do, not so much in rural areas but particularly in our cities and other urban areas, the cost is astronomical. A show on RTÉ last night highlighted how much this cost is crippling families and, in particular, how it is making it more difficult for women to return to the workplace. That is half our population and if we do not allow women to return to work when and if they want to, we are doing our country a disservice.

The cost of childcare is something we should debate more openly in this House. We have a new programme or policy in place with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, whereby there will be core funding specifically for childcare facilities. The Minister has yet to publish guidelines as to how this money will be allocated so I would welcome a debate with him. It is my view that we should ultimately move to a public system of childcare, publicly funded and publicly run, to complement the private sector that is there. Currently, all we have are private facilities. As a country, we need to acknowledge that we have the third most expensive childcare in Europe with no sign whatsoever of those costs reducing. It is an important issue for a significant cohort of the population.

I will draw attention and invite all Members to the women's health policy conference I am hosting in Smock Alley Theatre. It is taking place this Thursday, kicking off at 9.50 a.m. and running until 2.30 p.m. We will cover issues such as menopause, menstrual health, fertility - including IVF and surrogacy - mental health and eating disorders, in addition to a look to the future of healthcare in Ireland. Everybody is most welcome to attend. It is a very good and positive event because it will be a full day dedicated to addressing the deficiencies in women's healthcare as well as a positive outlook on what we can do to fill those gaps in service and provision of care to women in Ireland.