The Minister of State may not respond. It is Deputy Cairns's speaking time.

I thank the Minister. I am delighted to see this legislation go through. The Minister knows I am supportive of it. I raised this issue in the previous Dáil, from 2016 onwards. I will focus my remarks solely on the school completion programme. Historically, it was an educational programme and then it was transferred out of the Department of Education. It is great that it is going back there because it has an educational role. Some people do not fully understand what the school completion programme is. In fact, I hav…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality. It is important that we use every opportunity to discuss the ways in which we can encourage and create pathways for more women to become involved, be that in civic life or, through greater pay equality, in positions of leadership in the public and private sectors. In our submission to the assembly, we expressed the view that women themselves must be the ones to determine the solutions to dismantling the barriers t…

I will begin with some of the positives. I welcome that there was recognition of the early years childcare sector in the budget. I also welcome that the Minister is in the Chamber. It is the first time I have ever responded to a budget where the relevant Minister has been present, which is welcome. However, I am disappointed that the measure will not be introduced until September. I worry about the joint labour committee, JLC, talks process. I hope this can be looked at. From my background in a union, I know that J…

My question, which follows on from the motion my party tabled the other night, is in respect of fees for childcare and early years education. I ask the Minister to comment on his Department's priorities for the upcoming budget and if they include the reduction of the fees paid by parents.

I thank the Minister for his reply. I welcome his statement that childcare is a priority and that he regards it as a public good because that is the model we need to adopt for our childcare and early years sector. It needs to be seen for what it is, namely, an excellent public service on which everybody relies and that ultimately benefits children. That has to be at the heart of everything we do. As the Minister is aware, we have some of the highest fees in the world. In my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny, which is…

I agree that these issues are linked. I consistently make the argument that fees are an issue for parents, wages are an issue for those working in the sector and sustainability is an issue for providers. In fairness, the vast majority of providers started out as small businesses run mainly by women from home. All of a sudden, the whole system has gone insane in terms of paperwork and regulations. No one has an issue with regulation, particularly in respect of children, but a common sense approach is needed. As I re…

Will the Department honour the commitment to double State investment in childcare by 2028? Will the ongoing future funding model and workforce development plan processes and the national childcare scheme review inform budgetary allocations for the sector in time for the budget announcement? I wish to focus on the issue of the NCS and after-school care, which was the reason for the protest on Tuesday. Will the Minister comment on the workforce as well?

I will focus my response on the NCS and the funding, where children are falling through the cracks. I have raised this with the Minister on a number of occasions and I acknowledge that he came out to meet people at the protest on Tuesday. However, I can give a few practical examples. There are several services, not just in my constituency but nationwide, which point out that siblings are in the old model and children coming into the system now are falling outside of that. The service, therefore, is trying to make u…

To comment on that, most people would accept that if something is not working, there has to be a period of time in which one looks at fixing it, but this has dragged on. What people are seeking in the interim is that the older funding be kept in place until a solution is found. In that way nobody is paying a price and nobody is disadvantaged. Otherwise, we are potentially coming up with a solution when many of the services for these children may have faced closure point. In addition, at the meeting of the committee…

I move: "That Dáil Éireann: notes that: - childcare fees for parents in this State remain amongst the highest in the world; - one of the largest financial expenses for parents is childcare fees, forcing many families into debt and financial crisis or out of their current employment; 1699 - a recent United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund survey found that some families can spend up to one half of a salary to pay for two children in childcare; - parents, particularly women, are not supported with an a…

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. I have spoken many times about those working in the sector and I acknowledge that again this evening. It is such a difficult job and I genuinely do not know how people who work in the early years sector do it. The commitment and dedication they show are incredible. For the most part, it is degree led at this stage. People spend years in college studying and furthering their professional development and they are extremely experienced and qualified educators. After a lifetime in the sec…

I thank everybody for their contributions, including the Minister and Minister of State. They will be aware it is an issue I have been talking about for a long time. I welcome some aspects because we seem to be largely in agreement but it would not be the first time we have been in a debate where people are saying they are in agreement, yet their actions perhaps do not always match that. I like to see people talking about the workers and the wages in the sector, the providers and the sustainability issue, and the i…

We are over time.

Thank you, Deputy, you are over time.

I ask everyone to stick to the one-minute allocation in regard to supplementary questions.

This question is being taken with No. 86, so Deputy Gannon will get the opportunity to contribute after Deputy Clarke.

I thank the Minister, who will have an opportunity to come back in.

The Minister can answer it now. There are four minutes left so there will be time for Deputy Gannon to respond.

We have to move on to the next question, I am sorry.