Childcare Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23
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Paul McAuliffe (FF), Dublin North-West

My children are now 14 and 16 and while that makes me feel old, it is remarkable to see the investment we have made in childcare over the period. We paid nearly €1,500 per month with no subsidy of any sort from the Government. As the Minister said, the national childcare scheme supports families. However, we need to be careful. A commitment was made. I am saying this not only to the Minister, Deputy Foley, but also to the Department of public expenditure. It is a key commitment over the lifetime of the Government and each year we need to be working towards delivering it so that, at the end of the Government's term, we will have followed through on it.
Many positive things will come out of delivering it. It is important. On the issue, there is always a tension between the provider, the childcare worker and the parent and the needs of all three. While we have to balance that, I return to the point that we made a commitment and I hope we will do everything we can in the remaining years of the Government to deliver it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-23