Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the Seanad to talk about this important issue. She is going to do well in this role. It complements her previous role as Minister for Education because the education of children is on the same spectrum.

As the Minister outlined, there has been unprecedented investment in early years education over the past number of years. Childcare fees for parents have been slashed. Investment in pay and conditions and support for early years education has been unprecedented as well. The educators are getting the support that they deserve. The statement the Minister made relating to State-owned facilities promised in the programme for Government is important. I have been calling for this for years.We need to move to a publicly funded childcare model. The Minister said this is to complement existing childcare facilities, and of course we will have to operate a hybrid model, but this public investment in facilities within communities is to be welcomed. The Minister said this is to deliver in areas where there is unmet need, and let me tell you, in north County Dublin there is unmet need for childcare. Unprecedented numbers of houses are being built but we do not have the childcare facilities. Quite simply, builders make a bigger profit from building and selling houses. Obviously, Government policy is to deliver houses and we all support that, but we need to build communities alongside housing. When couples are buying their houses in new communities, whether in north County Dublin or in other areas, they do so with the expectation that they will be able to live their lives, that they will be able to continue their jobs and pay their mortgages. When they get to a point where they have a child, however, the waiting lists are too long for the very few childcare facilities available within a particular area. Often these childcare facilities do not take children under the age of two. That then requires somebody in the household, primarily women, to give up their jobs because they can only take up to a maximum of a year off after having a child. That brings a whole host of problems. That is not something that should be supported or encouraged by a lack of public policy around providing facilities to offer childcare places for children under the age of two.

I would like to see the Minister address this because people need to be able to access childcare that is suitable for their family and when it suits them. Many people take a number of years off with their children and that is supported. If women want to return to work before their child is aged two, however, there are very few options available and it creates a huge headache. We have to look at an holistic approach with the issues coming down the line with population growth. We need to be able to support families, support people to have the number of children they want to have, and support families through a whole host of issues. If people are finding it hard to access childcare for their first child, they are not exactly encouraged to go on to have a second and third. This needs to be looked at from an all-government point of view.

What the Minister is doing is very welcome. I look forward to that public investment. The childcare fees coming down to €200 over the lifetime of this Government would be fantastic and is to be welcomed. I support my colleague, Senator Alison Comyn, on the role of men working within childcare. My own two children were lucky to go to a fantastic crèche that had some male early years educators who a huge impact on their lives. We need to encourage more men into the sector. There is probably an issue with low pay in the sector. Low pay generally attracts women. It is a whole balancing act we need to get right. We need to increase the wages for everybody in the sector because they are doing such valuable work and to encourage men into it.

Another issue came up yesterday. A childcare provider within my constituency contacted me. It is very difficult to get work permits for people to work in early years education if those workers are from outside of the European Union. The Minister said the issue of attracting people into the industry is impeding childcare facilities in expanding places. If that could be looked at, it would go a long way to creating extra capacity within the system.

I wish the Minister the best of luck. There is a big body of work ahead. A lot of work was done over the lifetime of the previous Government. I support the core funding that was brought in by the previous Minister. There has been unprecedented investment into the sector, but we now need to bring it to the next level.