Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-24
============================================================

Michael Collins (II), Cork South-West

My assessment is not way off the mark. I have sat down with early childcare providers and they are telling me this. They are the people who are on the ground. They know the crisis that is there. This is no longer a crisis but an implosion that is unfolding before the Government's eyes. The truth is that the Government has allowed the sector to drift from crisis into collapse. It is jeopardising the future of thousands of children, particularly those with additional needs, who depend on these services. What makes this even more astonishing is that after years of rising costs, soaring inflation and relentless financial pressure, the Government's response was to increase the base core funding rate by just 9 cent per child per hour. In what world does a 9 cent increase even begin to address inflation, wage pressures, insurance costs, energy bills and the wider cost-of-living crisis? It is completely detached from the reality facing providers on the ground. For once, stop kicking this issue down the road. Stop hiding behind future budgets and long-term reviews. The sector needs action now and not another promise, not another consultation and not another excuse. If the Government does not act urgently, the damage being done to children, families and childcare providers will be felt for years to come.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:06+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-24