Childcare Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23
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Norma Foley (FF), Kerry

I acknowledge the great work happening in the Deputy's constituency. It was a pleasure to visit Ballymun and see at first hand the excellent work that happens there. I am aware of the Deputy's personal commitment to advancing early years childcare provision in his constituency.
Specifically, it is hugely important that we support providers and parents from an affordability point of view, but that we also support staff. I acknowledge that the €45 million is subject to an independent joint labour committee. I do not interfere with that, but the Government makes the money available. It is for the purpose of supporting staff and that is how it will be used. However, the decision around it is independent of the Department and I respect that.
All voices are important in this area. As a country and nation, we need to acknowledge the importance of early years education. We also need to have a pathway forward. That is the purpose of phase 2 of the action plan. In that regard, there are 50 consultation processes taking place on the ground across the country at the moment. Some have started, more are ongoing. I invite as many people as possible, including parents, workers and providers, to engage in that forum.

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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