Malcolm Noonan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte leis an Aire agus í ar ais arís. This is a sector in which I have a great interest. My wife is a practitioner in a lovely Montessori called First Steps Montessori, with Mary Verling and her team in Kilkenny. Over the past 20 years, I have been a voluntary board member of a number of community childcare projects. These projects, which Senator Tully also mentioned, are really important, particularly for vulnerable and low-income families.

The Minister's predecessor and my colleague, Deputy O'Gorman, made significant investment in early childhood education and development in the previous Government. This resulted in a tremendous uplift in terms of funding, which doubled from €638 million to €1.3 billion in 2025. The First 5 strategy, the expansion of the national childcare scheme and the access and inclusion model were brought through in budget 2024. While the core funding model for childcare providers did not suit all providers and there were challenges around it, it was, in principle, a step in the right direction in terms of the sustainability of early childhood development.

Senators mentioned the reduction in fees. The previous Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, was keen to advance that during his time in government, as is the Minister as she moves into her Ministry. I also mention pay and conditions because we will not have a viable early childhood development sector in Ireland unless we have viable pay for workers. We also have enhanced parental leave policies.

In the seconds remaining to me, I highlight the commitment in the programme for Government to have a publicly funded model. I also note there was a commitment to create a legal right to two years of early childhood care and education in the manifestos of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. That is vital. It is critical that we move towards a public model. These are the most important educators in the life of a young person. Early childhood education should be child-centred and parent-centred and should value practitioners as educators in their own right.