Childcare core funding
Deputy Smith said small childcare providers were not benefiting from core funding and were considering leaving the sector. The Taoiseach said investment had increased significantly and he would speak to the Minister about the concerns raised.
I am sorry the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has left, because this is really his business. Yesterday he repeated that the core funding model for early childcare and education would benefit 99% of childcare providers but I have met and talked to smaller providers who represent a cohort of 1,500 small childcare providers and they are not seeing any benefits from the new scheme. Many are deciding to leave the sector because they cannot survive. Overwhelmingly, the funding is going to the bigger providers and branches of corporates. Will the Minister meet this cohort? Why are providers being forced to complete mandatory service profiles to access the funds before 22 April when they do not have answers to their questions?
Comment on this
There has been a significant increase in investment in early learning and childcare and in core funding. I will talk to the Minister on the points the Deputy has raised, particularly in regard to the group of childcare providers she met. There has been significant ongoing investment, particularly in the most recent budget.