Childcare Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-19
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Brian Stanley (IND), Laois

According to the childcare committee in the county, Portlaoise needs four full-day facilities. Portarlington needs one, as do Mountmellick, Mountrath, Graiguecullen, Rathdowney, Abbeyleix, Durrow and the Cullahill area. The pilot of eight to nine is obviously welcome. It is a small start. We could put all eight or nine in Laois, but I urge the Minister to put at least one or two there. The current model is not able to match the growth in population in the county. We are behind other European states that have private provision. As the Minister said, a lot of those providers are going good work - I would not take from that - but other European states also have strong state-led childcare systems. We do not have that in this country. The Minister is right in that this is a groundbreaking initiative, which I certainly welcome and will fully support. However, it costs €1,430 per month to mind a child. The wages in our area do not come up high enough for people to pay that sort of money. That woman has no childcare facilities now to allow her to return to work. The couple are in rented accommodation as well and we know the pressures that brings. Rents are sky high in the area. It is a huge issue, and I ask that the Minister's officials look around County Laois and contact the local county council and estate agents to see if a property can be secured for it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:40+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-19