I welcome Elaine Dunne, Connie Hannon and Fiona Bowe from the Federation of Early Childhood Providers who are in the Public Gallery. The early childhood care and education programme, ECCE model of childcare was introduced in 2010 and it was replicated on the basis of the Northern Irish system. Since 2010, the capitation funding per child in ECCE has risen from €64.50 to €69. This is measly when compared with the doubling of capitation funding in Northern Ireland in that same period. Budget 2023 has to ensure that childcare becomes more affordable for parents but, equally, it must ensure that the model of childcare in Ireland is properly funded and that we break the cycle of measly funding. The federation is looking for an increase in capitation in budget 2023 from €69 to €76 per child. Failure to secure that funding and address the funding deficits could, they estimate, result in the closure of 260 centres. We value this sector like gold, yet we pay them peanuts. This has to be the budget that properly funds it and I ask the Taoiseach to speak with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, and ask him to go out to the gate and meet the sector’s representatives.

Core funding is worth up to €221 million to the sector. Obviously there are implications in terms of affordability and so forth. Last year, we allocated very substantial funds specifically for staffing, training and to create career pathways within the early childhood sector. In work under way within the Government legislation committee, GLC, this year the Government has signalled that it wants to deal more substantially with the affordability issue and the cost-of-living issue, and also ensuring that while doing that, the capacity of the providers to provide services in a sustainable way is not just maintained but is ensured for the future. There has been a great deal of progress over the years in early childhood care. We have come from a situation where it was never a State system to start with, so there are multiple providers, community-based and private. They work through the various schemes. We have to improve it and the Government has identified childcare as a key issue for the next budget.