Roughly 22,000 children will need childcare in County Clare by 2027. Only five services have registered and only 26 individual childminders have done the mandatory pre-registration training so far. With less than two years before these new regulations take effect, what is being done to ensure the number of childminders will be sufficient to meet the future demand in Clare by 2027?

I thank the Minister. In Clare we will need roughly 170 childminders to accommodate the number of children who use individual childminders' services. My experience on the ground in Clare is that existing services are already under huge pressures, with long waiting lists, very limited availability in many areas and, unfortunately, increasing numbers of childminders shutting up shop. I acknowledge the need for registration but am very concerned about how this will play out if there is not a well-thought-out strategy …

My main concern is that there will only be a trickle of applications for the training and a then a flood at the last minute. We can be smart and avoid that last-minute surge by putting in place a planned, targeted information campaign for next year, possibly using the childcare committees. This would ensure that any misinformation about the process is countered and that anyone who might be interested hears about this well before the deadline, which is important. We could take this campaign directly to parents by go…

I raise a serious matter brought to me by a constituent, a disabled woman who was in receipt of the employment support scheme. This support was fundamental. It enabled her to carry out her role, be productive and build a career on an equal basis with others. On the basis that this support was in place, she made the major decision to progress her career. Like any other employee, she successfully convinced a new employer that she should take on a more senior management role. She did so in good faith with the reasonab…

I thank the Minister for his update. The maximum rate under the wage subsidy scheme is 50% of the minimum wage. State policy tells employers that disabled people can only work at entry level. We should come at it from the other side and build capacity and value by creating a pathway for those with a disability to progress to the highest levels they can attain which is important for those people. The core issue is that the new wage subsidy scheme is framed in terms of compensating an employer for an employee's perce…

Everywhere I go these days I see houses getting energy upgrades. They will ensure that our homes will be easier and cheaper to heat and keep warm, which is very welcome. Might the Minister have the number of homes that have completed energy upgrades this year and how that compares with previous years?

One of the issues I have heard from people who have looked to upgrade their traditional built houses, many of which are in our towns and villages as the Minister of State is well aware, is the potential need to engage conservation professionals, given the construction methods. This puts a far greater cost burden on the owner. I am led to believe there is a significant shortage in such professionals, both technical and practical. This makes for huge delay in delivering the energy upgrades and therefore they are far …

There is an upgrade scheme through the SEAI at the minute called the traditional home pilot scheme. There is a low uptake, and this is directly related to the costs associated with conservation technical expertise and the lack of conservation professionals. Will the Minister of State provide details as to the number of expressions of interest there have been through the one-stop shops and the number of those who have followed through with the applications? If we are serious about upgrading many of the older propert…

I express my full support for the Government's plans to raise the Housing Finance Agency's borrowing limit from €12 billion to €13.5 billion. This is an important and vital investment in Ireland's future. It gives the agency the funding needed to help to deliver more social and affordable houses throughout the country. We are facing a serious housing crisis. To solve it, we need to use every tool available. Making sure the agency has enough money to do its job is one of the most important steps we can take. The age…

The lack of wastewater treatment is highlighted as one of the biggest blockages in the delivery of Government housing targets. In 2022, the Minister announced €50 million under the rural water programme to deliver treatment systems in towns and villages that are not serviced. Three years on, none of these projects have begun. Will the Minister distribute these funds to any local authority that has sites ready to move to design and delivery and which has committed in writing to match funding for the projects? Will h…

I understand from speaking to colleagues from other counties involved in this scheme that some are much further along in the process than others. I know that Clare County Council can progress if the Department confirms funding for the two projects in Broadford and Cooraclare. These two settlements have demonstrated significant commitment to the proposal of public treatment systems. I asked Clare County Council whether it had confirmed in writing to the Department that the matched funding requirement is available an…

In the Minister of State's own words, the housing crisis is an emergency. The lack of a treatment system in towns and villages is one of the causes of this emergency, yet the money to develop such systems in towns and villages that are not serviced has been sitting in the Department's bank account for the past three years. The county council is clearly committed to delivering this scheme in two towns in Clare. They could be a demonstration for others, as once one county gets under way, others will follow. This is m…

One issue that always arises during my weekly clinics in County Clare is the lack of childcare places. This is such an enormous stress for almost all working parents. An adequate level of such facilities is important from an educational perspective, but also as critical enablers for parents to join the workforce. Will the Minister provide a breakdown of the number of childcare providers that have entered and left the sector over the last five years?

Having spoken to several childcare providers, the main concern for the viability of the sector is staff retention. I am not surprised, given the information I have received. I understand an SNA can be applied to a primary school having completed a 12-week certificate course, while a childcare educator must have a minimum FETAC level 5 qualification, which is a one to two year process. A childcare educator is paid an average of €4 per hour with less work, more hours and lower holiday entitlements. It is no wonder th…

I thank the Minister for her positive reply. I wish to raise one final point with the Minister regarding extra capacity that may be within the system without any extra facilities, highlighted by this direct quote from the manager of one facility: Allocation of a blanket of 45 hours childcare per week to a family without full consideration of their circumstances is completely clogging up the system. I regularly see 45 hours allocated to families with one or both parents at home for whatever reason. While every child…

Recently, I had discussions with a number of people who have engaged with Tusla's alternative services in Clare. What I heard about the type and level of care being provided for some of the most vulnerable children in our society caused me great concern. I am here to get some answers as to the number of social workers, the number of vacancies, the turnover rate for social workers in Clare and the number of children who have no allocated social worker and who are currently placed in foster or residential care.

I have heard about a very low number of social workers and extremely high rates of staff burnout and staff turnover in Clare. This has resulted in severely traumatised children being handed from one social worker to another, with little or no continuity of care. I have heard of children with a foster family or residential placement being put into special emergency arrangements, through the out-of-hours service. This only operates from 6 p.m., as the Minister is aware, and children can be placed anywhere around the …

I thank the Minister, but everything I have heard on the ground tells me that the system is broken. A review of the issues I have highlighted is needed to make a start on improving things. Good people across the county are holding on by their fingertips and will leave unless a real attempt is made to address their concerns. These children need consistency in social worker staff in order to make progress. That is not happening because staff are walking away on a continual basis due to the pressure of a complex workl…

The programme for Government seeks to build 300,000 homes by 2030. It is an ambitious task and one that will need every tool available to Government to deliver. Every week I hear from local builders who want to help Government to deliver on that ambition by building houses in hundreds of rural communities, helping the Government reach its housing target as well as ensuring the viability of our rural communities. They are being blocked in many areas by the lack of wastewater infrastructure and the inability of Uisce…

The Department is saying it is an operational matter for Uisce Éireann. Uisce Éireann says it is a local authority matter but the local authority is not the water service authority. The blockage needs to be resolved by the Government direction.