On Tuesday, we had a huge gathering outside the gates of Leinster House regarding the childhood sector and the lack of investment in a sector that is undervalued. This is epitomised by the low levels of investment and the high cost for parents. Some 25,000 staff are employed, and in many cases they are on low wages and have temporary contracts. Many engaged in child care services are earning little more than the minimum wage. As a result, the services are losing qualified and experienced, professional people. They can no longer afford to remain in the profession. It is time the Government steps in, recognises and accepts that it has a responsibility to provide sufficient funding to ensure high quality and delivery of service is maintained. There is an urgent need to raise the current level of spending on the early childhood care and education scheme from the current level of 0.2% of GDP to the European average of 0.7% of GDP.

The people on the protest on Tuesday were not seeking that parents pay more, nor were they seeking to increase the strain on service providers. Parents are paying as much as they can and service providers are already struggling to meet their staff costs, overheads and running costs. Recognition must be given to the preschool stage as a critical and integral part of the delivery of early childhood services as part of educational services.

Will the Minister and the Government address the following priorities? There should be a national pay scale for childhood professionals tied to increased Government investment within three to five years. The free preschool contract should be extended to statutory holiday entitlements and training days. This will cease making seasonal workers out of qualified and experienced practitioners. There should be increased availability and uptake of FETAC level 6 degrees and continual professional development courses and investment in the early baby stages for those aged up to three years.

I thank Deputy Tom Fleming for raising this important issue. The Government will invest €260 million in child care this year, supporting child care provision for more than 100,000 children in the State. Despite budgetary pressures, the Government was determined to protect the early childhood care and education programme so that children continue to have access to this vital opportunity and to protect the employment of thousands of child care workers, to which the Deputy refers. The early childhood care and education scheme provides one year of preschool care and education to more than 67,000 children, saving parents approximately €2,500 a year in child care costs. This week, my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Reilly, is commencing a high level interdepartmental group to conduct a focus study on the area and to set out the direction of what the Deputy is looking for a whole-of-Government approach to future investment in child care. This applies to the early years and school age children. The group will set out the policy goals for future investment, which is at the heart of the matter; examine current provision to see if it is a good fit for the goals; learn from best practice, including the experience of other countries; identify costed options for future investment; and,make recommendations to the Minister.

The group is due to report to the Government in six months' time.

The Minister and the Government are alive to the issue raised by the Deputy. The terms and conditions of employment, as well as the career stability prospects for individuals working in the sector, are extremely important. Irrespective of what public service they are providing, it is important that staff have stability of employment, a stake in their jobs and can see a future for themselves in their work. We value their involvement and contributions, as well as the involvement of the trade unions. It is welcome that Deputies are responding to the issue after it was raised this week. It is an important debate and the issues Deputy Tom Fleming raised will be considered by the Minister when he receives the report.

I welcome the Minister's statement on the working group. It is imperative that the report be fast forwarded because we need to put in place a strategy for the next three to five years. I, therefore, ask that the matter be expedited and treated with urgency.

In the past 30 years Ireland changed from a society in which mothers, by and large, stayed at home to one in which there is greater diversity and engagement in work because of the need to expand the workforce. Facilities have been put in place, but we have fallen down in providing adequate resources and funding to ensure the provision of high quality services in this sector. The societal changes that have taken place should be recognised by the Government, even at this late stage, and reflected in its policies and budgets. I, therefore, ask that the matter be addressed in the next budget. The State should also fund administration costs which are outside the area of direct contact with children. Assessments and meetings are necessary, but there is no funding for that additional work. I urge the Government to increase the level of early childhood capitation funding and link it with the nationally agreed pay scales, introduce mechanisms to ensure children with additional needs will be supported in engaging as equals in their early childhood education setting, and include free hours to engage in continuing professional development as part of all Government funded schemes to enable those working in the sector to fully implement the national curriculum and quality frameworks.

I will communicate the Deputy's insights to the Minister, Deputy James Reilly. Many of the points he raised are valid. It is not a question of the Government waking up to the importance of child care. We are very conscious of the importance of proper systems of child care and investing in the sector. Like every other sector, its ability to expand was arrested by the fact that resources were greatly limited owing to the economic situation. The country is now in a much better place and it is possible to look to the future with more confidence, particularly in the child care sector. It is extremely important for families, but it is also an economic imperative that we support it. As the Deputy noted, the nature of work and working patterns have changed. In fairness to the child care system, it has reflected this. The Government has undertaken or supported a number of initiatives in this regard, including child care employment and training supports, the community child care subvention programme, community employment child care programme and the after school child care scheme. Numerous schemes and programmes are in place, but we want to see further investment in the sector. The Minister will study the report of the group. Representatives of various Departments, all of the agencies involved, the trade unions and interested parties can contribute to the group's work and the Minister will then be in a position to make proposals for developing the sector further. This is critical for individuals and families, as well as the economy.