Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-16
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

I appreciate that. That has always been my experience in dealing with the Deputy. Politics is about a number of things. One of them is that we are here representing our constituents and bringing forward the issues and what we hear. Second, we are obligated to do a bit more than just diagnosing the problem as the Deputy has gone further in her questions to begin to explore what the solutions look like and how can we constructively engage across political backgrounds.
On childcare, we have recognised as a Government that relying entirely on the market is not a viable option. It is not going to work. That is why we have now taken a decision and already an allocation for the very first time to have publicly-funded childcare facilities in terms of a call. That needs to be the start. On the big issue around how we reduce the cost of childcare, we are fully committed to delivering that commitment over the lifetime of Government. However, we have to build a system to make sure that we got the places.
Similarly on school places, there are a number of school projects under way in County Meath. Meath's population is not too dissimilar to my county's population in Wicklow is growing at a very fast rate. We will continue to engage on this.
On the issue of training, I truthfully do not have the answer but it is an important point in making sure we have that continuous professional development within the public service and support our public servants. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Chambers, to engage with the Deputy on it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-16