Over decades, we have seen neglect of national childcare policies, producing a piecemeal system with the highest proportion of private providers in the OECD and childcare costs continuing to rise. Despite the early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme and core funding model, parents in Dublin are still paying as much as €1,000 per child per month, if they can find a crèche place. We know providers are closing crèches because many are also struggling and skilled early-years educators are still not being paid enough, despite the welcome changes with the employment regulation order. We are failing parents, staff, providers and, most of all, children by failing to deliver a proper, State-funded, universal childcare scheme.

The Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality called for Ireland to move to a publicly-funded, accessible and regulated model of affordable early-years childcare over the next decade. We are working on the recommendations of the citizens' assembly but we are conscious the clock is ticking and we are one tenth of the way through that decade. The Government must take action now to ensure, by 2030, we move to the model of childcare to which the citizens' assembly aspired.

This Government is not neglecting childcare. We are investing approximately €1.25 billion in childcare. This means the first of five investment targets, €1 billion by 2028, has been achieved five years ahead of schedule. This year's budget allocation will support a reduction of up to 25% in childcare fees. This measure will put close to €2,100 every year back in the pockets of parents from next year. This follows last year's budgets that provided funding for a new employment regulation order, which was agreed between employee representative bodies and the employers. This will result in increases in wages and better conditions for those working in the childcare sector.

The Deputy stated that childcare has evolved on a piecemeal basis. I take her point but that has been the case for over 30 years in terms of community-based, private sector and State-based childcare. The issue now is how we build on that and make it affordable for parents.