In the context of the cost-of-living crisis, I will raise the critical issue of childcare. We know that costs of childcare for parents are far too high, wages for early years professionals are too low and there is an abject shortage of places for children. Across my constituency, I hear all the time from parents who are worn out from trying to find a crèche or early years education place or who have been told there is no preschool facility available for their child until 2024. We need a guarantee - a Donogh O'Malley moment - to ensure that every child will have a preschool and early years place available to him or her. I know the new core funding model was published this week but we need the Government to take meaningful steps to achieve a universal public childcare system. I ask the Tánaiste and the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to indicate what steps are being taken to guarantee every child will have an early years place when he or she needs it, every early years educator will get decent pay and parents will have affordable childcare available to them.

In order to ensure that every childcare professional can get a fair wage, we have initiated a joint labour committee, JLC, and an employment regulation order, ERO, process. Two EROs are in negotiation. The first is for an entry rate of €13 per hour, which guarantees the living wage for childcare professionals for the first time in this State. The second is to look at higher levels of pay. All of that is backed up by core funding. We have been very clear that the payment of core funding is contingent on the ERO. If the State is to step up with €221 million of investment, it has to be guaranteed that childcare professionals who have worked so hard and demonstrated the huge value they gave to the State during Covid, we have to be assured they will get that additional investment and will see it in their pay packets. We are about to achieve that.