Can I press an amendment?

And Deputy Cairns.

The Minister started by saying that our most fundamental duty today is to acknowledge the profound failures and mistreatment of Irish women and their children who were cruelly deprived of choice and agency, and, in many cases, coerced into unnecessary institutional settings. I absolutely agree. We and the Government need to acknowledge that. We need to acknowledge the bravery and dignity of those women and their children. We also need to make sure we do not repeat those mistakes, that we do not use today, tomorrow …

The big surprise in the budget last week was that funding for the early years sector was not increased. Why did the sector not receive an increase in funding in budget 2021 compared with the 2020 figures? Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?

The Minister acknowledged the great effort of people in the childcare sector and thanked them for the groundwork they put in prior to the opening of the schools. With all due respect, I imagine that would feel to them a little like the applause the healthcare workers got. They wanted to see significant investment in their services, as did families and parents. I acknowledge that the Government was focused on ensuring services could stay open when the Covid pandemic hit. That brought home to us how important those s…

I acknowledge the work that is being done but it is like putting sticking plasters over a broken system that does not work for children, parents or childcare workers. As my colleague mentioned, the rates of turnover in the sector are incredibly high. There are issues with sick pay and the wages paid to staff. That is not a long-term system because it will not deliver for us, as a country or society. After the budget announcement, I found it interesting that not many parents contacted me to say they were worried or …

I ask the Minister to address the ongoing issues with the HIVE portal system for childcare providers. I have been contacted by very many providers who are having issues with this particular system, and if he would make a statement on the matter.

As many parents will contest, when they find someone to look after their children, they want them to spend their time looking after their children and not dealing with administrative issues. Many people have come to me about problems with this system. One provider said she was discussing an issue where her bank details had been pulled, which made a particularly stressful period even more stressful. She said all of that would have been so much easier if someone had just answered the phone and that it could have been…

I thank the Minister for that. If I get any more representations, I will certainly come to him. It was interesting that in the Crowe report this week the administrative issues and the requirements providers have to operate under were mentioned. The HIVE is just one example of that. I have spoken to providers who said that they spend a lot of time filling in documents and forms that then sit in a cupboard and no one ever looks at them again. That is not where we want our priorities, and those of the providers, to be…

On behalf of the Social Democrats I too thank John for his work and wish him the best for the future. In the budget this week, an additional three weeks' parental benefit was allocated, which is welcome. I am aware, however, that many parents were disappointed that it will only apply from April. As the Tánaiste will be aware, parents with children under the age of one are finding it particularly difficult to find childcare and there are many constraints on them at the moment. Will the Government consider applying t…

Covid-19 has brought hardship to many in this country. It has threatened people's physical and mental health as well as their jobs. Families have been stretched financially, materially and mentally, and they are really looking for some hope and for a helping hand to get them across the line. That is what our Government should be about. Young people in particular have had a difficult time. At a time in their lives when they should be carefree, their needs have largely been forgotten and they have been met with unnat…

Today is the first day of national breastfeeding week and despite all the known benefits of breastfeeding rates remain very low in Ireland, so we are obviously not doing something right. Only 15% of babies are still being exclusively breastfed by the time they are six months old. Will the Government please commit to funding and resourcing the national breastfeeding strategy and ensure we give the best start in life to our babies?

I move: "That Dáil Éireann: notes: — that child poverty is an indictment of our State, robbing children of their childhoods, their health and well-being and squanders a child’s potential later in life; — that consistent child poverty is the harshest form of poverty where children live in households below 60 per cent of the national median income, and experience deprivation based on 11 deprivation indicators; — that despite the removal of 14,000 children from consistent child poverty during the lifetime of previous …

I thank the Members who have supported the motion. While I thank the Minister for his contribution, I was incredibly disappointed with it because it did not address the issue. In order for us to solve a problem, we must acknowledge that it exists. The Government's amendment does not recognise that there is a problem with poverty or child poverty in this country. It suggests the Government thinks that the steps it and previous Governments have taken are sufficient for us to address the major issue of poverty that we…

In 2019, the then Minister with responsibility for communications announced expenditure of €20 million to upgrade EV charging points across the country and stated that this was to give confidence to people such that if they were to buy an EV, the relevant infrastructure would be available when needed. Will the current Minister provide an update on the implementation of the programme for upgrading EV charging points nationwide since the funding was announced, and could he make a statement on the matter?

In the 18 months since the announcement of the EV upgrade proposal, out of the target 264 charging points that were to be upgraded to 22 kW, only 159 have been delivered. On the target of having 52 charging points upgraded to 50 kW points, only ten have been delivered. As far as I can see, none of the 90 high-power charging points has been delivered so far. That is in 18 months. Even given the delays that inevitably happened because of Covid, this demonstrates that the rolling out of the programme has been painfull…

I am not sure what is causing it, but there is a delay in getting this rolled out. There is approximately the same number of charging points now as when the ESB first rolled out these points, yet there are many more cars on the road. Therefore, there is a problem. It would be worthwhile determining what the barriers are. In the context of local authorities, I have spoken to Wicklow County Council about this matter. Only 75% of the cost of installing the charging points is met by the Government so the council has to…

I am glad to see the Minister in the Chamber today. Many families are having similar experiences to his and I hope the outcomes are as positive. The Minister and I have similar views on many of these issues and I agree with an awful lot of what he has said. The Minister said earlier that this was going to be a huge challenge but he believes that we can do it, that we will be good at it as a country, and I agree with him about that. Look at how we have managed the Covid-19 crisis. We came together and showed solidar…

I thank the Minister for coming in to take these questions today. I wish to raise the issue of Greystones community college with her this evening. Greystones community college is a brand new secondary school in Greystones that had its first intake in September. Obviously, all the parents and students were excited about the fact this new school was getting started. The school was due to was due to share accommodation with Greystones community national school, in a new primary school building that was also meant to o…

I thank the Minister for her reply, but it really has not brought any further clarity to the issue. There is no indication as to whether the secondary school will be in the tennis club post October. There is no indication as to when the brand-new primary school will be opened and both the primary school and the secondary school can go in there. This school needs clarity. Everybody involved has done an amazing hob. The principal, staff, parents and students have put great effort into making this school as good as po…