Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. About six years ago if I were told I had to stand up to talk about childcare, I would not have had a clue what I was talking about. Now that I have two boys who are five and three I feel like I am an expert on childcare, the cost of childcare and, particularly, the thing I learned very quickly, childcare providers. The two providers I know very well are the Play and Learn creche in Clonmel and the Busy Bees after-school service in Grange. The staff are educators and teachers and they are not just minders. My perception six or seven years ago was that a child is just put in and minded, they play away, hopefully they are safe and then they come home and all is good but they learn so much it is phenomenal.

My youngest son Daniel has just started the ECCE and the education he is receiving before he starts primary school is phenomenal. When we speak about funding childcare and places we also need to recognise in the long term that the people who work in childcare are, in my view, teachers. They are no different from primary school teachers or secondary school teachers. From my experience with my two boys, the staff provide an education. I genuinely think my boys are geniuses and it has nothing to do with what I have done as a parent. I give the childcare staff all the credit for it.

On a serious point, today's discussion is welcome. It is very good and important to recognise there are real challenges for people. There are real challenges in terms of costs, particularly here in the capital city. There are certainly challenges in terms of places. The second person you need to tell that a child is due in nine months' time is the owner of a childcare service. What I have realised in the past six years, and what I have certainly noticed, is that the cost has dramatically reduced. When we speak about costs Senator Tully is right that there are people in the country who are spending an awful lot of money, up to €1,500, on childcare. This is a startling amount but it is not the vast majority of people in the country. The fees people pay now have dramatically reduced compared with four or five years ago. To take my example, if I had my two children now, childcare per month would cost less than half of €1,500 and this is the same for anyone in Tipperary. Four or five years ago the cost would have been over €1,000. It has reduced dramatically but this is not to take away from the fact there are problems with the cost and certainly problems in terms of access.One of the big changes I have noticed in rural Ireland, and I presume Senator Nicole Ryan has noticed this as well, is that a number of primary schools have taken on after-school care. This has made a dramatic difference for parents because when their children can attend school and avail of after-school care in the same school, they can stay at work until 5 o'clock. My wife and I could not do it. Either my wife or I would have to collect our child at 2.30 p.m., which just is not possible if you have a full day's work. The increase in after-school care has made a big difference.

There have been significant cost reductions over the last four or five years. Although there has not been a reduction this year, there has been an increase in funding of about €125 million. One of the main aspects of that increase in funding is that it allows for the building of new facilities. When we build new facilities, we reduce the cost and open up access. There is a long-term ambition to reach a cost of €200 a month, which hopefully can be done within the lifetime of this Government. If we do not have enough childcare places, however, parents cannot find providers to which to send their children and there is no point in having a maximum of €200 a month.

This is an important debate. If we are going to talk about childcare, we must recognise that a lot has been done in the last five or six years. Although a number of people are still struggling, an awful lot of people have seen the benefit over the last four or five years of the measures that have been taken by the Department in reducing costs, opening up access, setting up schemes that support people from disadvantaged areas and children with additional needs, and providing funding to educate those who want to work in this sector. All of these things will have a knock-on impact. As a Senator said at the start, a number of people who have worked in this sector, having been educated and trained to do so, have decided to leave because financially it is not viable for them to remain. I know the Minister has an action plan and I am interested in hearing its timeline. We need to have an action plan in place to ensure these teachers can see a long-term future and career in this sector. From my perspective, the work they do is phenomenal and that needs to be recognised by the State.