Early Childhood Care and Education
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-26
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Robert O'Donoghue (LAB), Dublin Fingal West

I thank the Minister of State and welcome what she said. Dublin Fingal West would be the perfect area to roll out a scheme like that. I welcome that capital funding will be used to acquire or fit out the buildings. That would certainly help in my constituency. I would also like to address the Government's commitments to reducing childcare costs to €200 a month over the term of the Dáil.
That is obviously welcome. However, we must be very clear about the language we use here. When we talk about cheaper childcare, we reduce this sector to a bargain bin service. It starts sounding like a Ryanair advertisement where the lowest fare wins. That cannot be what early childhood education and care becomes. Affordability does matter - of course it does - but quality must be number one. I am glad the Minister of State acknowledges that in her statement. It is worrying to see providers threaten a judicial review on the employment regulation order, ERO, in the sector. That shows how unstable the sector is. A Band-Aid is holding the sector together. We do not need a patch. We need to rip off the Band-Aid and have a transformative moment, like Donogh O'Malley bringing in free secondary education or Niamh Bhreathnach getting rid of fees and opening third level to a generation. Those decisions were not tinkering; they were bold and brave. They recognised education as a public good. I urge this Government to recognise early education in the same vein and start a transition to a fully public childcare model so that parents have real choice and every child has access to quality, accessible childcare.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:42+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-26