I want to start by expressing my deep shock and sadness at the passing of the young person and injury to others in an apartment in north Dublin yesterday. Obviously there is a criminal investigation and we are limited in what we can say, but there is an additional layer of sadness that this is an unaccompanied minor thousands of miles away from his family and community. As we understand it, this happened only days after arriving in this country. In the fullness of time, of course, there will have to be an internal Tusla investigation, but I very much hope that all of the necessary procedures, staffing and safeguards were in place when that shocking incident happened yesterday, in particular given that the care home is contracted to run on behalf of Tusla and not run by Tusla itself.

There will be huge amount of trauma for the staff and other minors involved and we have to make sure all the supports will be in place for them. It is important to say that every day across this country care workers go in to homes that look very ordinary on the outside and do incredible work in them, whether that is caring for those with an intellectual or physical disability or children in care. I know from talking to some of those care workers last night that yesterday's events have sent a chill down their spine because the reality is that some care workers have to work in extremely difficult and challenging conditions where, in spite of all of the safeguards, they have to put themselves at risk every single day to work and care for others.

This time last year we could not open the newspapers without seeing the Government make promise after promise to families desperately in need of childcare. They were told the Government could do something quickly about the cost of childcare in the early part of Government and we now know that is a broken promise. The Government said it would intervene with regard to supply. To be fair, it committed money to that last week which is great. However, as with so much with this Government, announcements are one thing but delivery is very different. I have very serious questions about the competence and capability in the Department of children and Pobal.

Last year, parents across the country were told that more places were coming and €25 million was being put in place under the building blocks scheme designed to help existing providers expand. The process started, applications closed in January and feedback was due in March. Funding was to be spent in total by this December. Instead, not a single penny has been spent. Pobal only sent the contracts two weeks ago. We now learn from providers that there is missing paperwork. The earliest date for construction is two or three months away and all the while construction costs have gone up since applications were submitted at the start of this year. Some providers have told me they are unsure whether they will be able to proceed with their planned expansion because the original grant will not cover the cost of works.

This is a deadly serious situation. Thousands of families are on waiting lists for childcare. Some 33,000 children under the age of three were on a waiting list last year and 10,000 children are waiting for an after-school place. All the while, there is zero urgency from Government. This is having a massive impact on families. What actions is the Government taking to ensure that the go slow ends in the Department of children and Pobal?

What assurances can he make to parents that those promised childcare places from last year, let alone this year, will be made available?

I want to address the Deputy's first point on Donaghmede. I join with her in rightly acknowledging the very difficult, challenging, stressful and sometimes dangerous environment in which our care workers find themselves. None of us can fully comprehend the most horrific, tragic and saddening situation care workers endured yesterday. I want to join with the Deputy in paying tribute to them. I also agree with her that there will, obviously, need to be full answers and transparency in relation to all the procedures and protocols that were in place. As she rightly said, however, a Garda investigation is under way, and we need to allow that process to proceed. I obviously do not want to, nor has the Deputy, in any way interfere with the privacy of those involved or the ongoing Garda investigation other than to say that this is a very serious incident and needs to be treated as such. It is also an extraordinarily tragic and saddening incident.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of childcare. I will speak directly to the Minister, Deputy Foley, about the issue she has highlighted in relation to Pobal and the drawdown of grants and where that is at. I will ask the Minister to come back to her directly. We are absolutely committed to reducing the cost of childcare to €200 per month during the lifetime of the Government. I will also acknowledge that the Labour Party was the first party to propose that, and there is now a political consensus across this House among pretty much all political parties that this is what we are going to deliver during the lifetime of this Government. I did say that I would like to see significant progress on it in the early part of the Government, and we can still make significant progress on it in the early part of the Government. We have only had the first of five budgets. However, we do need to see everything move in some form of sequential order that makes sense.

There are 21 commitments in the programme for Government relating to childcare. The next practical step now will be for the Minister, Deputy Foley, to publish the action plan on childcare to see how we move the 21 actions together in a way that gets us to the €200 per month per child, absolutely, but that also makes sure that some of the issues the Deputy is highlighting and some of the issues I see in my own constituency and home town around places, capacity and the need for public provision are also addressed. There are simply not enough childcare spaces. That lack of capacity is having a real impact for families. As the Deputy acknowledged, we did in the budget provide funding to expand capacity in the sector while continuing to freeze fees at the levels they were four years ago. The cost of childcare does need to come down. The Minister will publish that roadmap and action plan very shortly. We need to show parents and providers the sequence in which we intend to move forward.

We have outlined a record budget for childcare of almost €1.5 billion. The national childcare scheme, which has over 250,000 children currently enrolled, will be further funded for an additional 35,000 children next year, which is a 14% increase. In the coming months, the Minister will also set out plans for a new maximum fee cap set from next September, reducing costs for families paying the highest fees first across the country. The Ministers, Deputies Foley and Burke, and Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, have taken measures to sign off on a 10% increase in the minimum rate of pay for educators. That took place this Monday. There is money in the budget to do further on pay in 2026. We did also specifically target children most in need of additional supports, including expanding the back-to-school clothing and footwear payment to preschool children for the first time ever.

There is a serious credibility issue here. We see it with regard to the underdelivery of the social housing targets and, indeed, what we are seeing now with regard to childcare places. This is an issue that was raised with the Department during the summer. I raised it last week, and we have seen no response, frankly, from the Department on these issues.

It is deadly serious for parents. Mothers are unable to return to work because of the lack of childcare availability. Parents are having to reduce hours and, of course, there are thousands out there who want to rejoin the labour force after many years and they simply cannot all because of the shortage of childcare places. Frankly, there is a lack of urgency on the part of the Government. Last year, people heard that urgency pre-election. We are not seeing that urgency now, and that needs to change.

The other critical part of this relates to childcare workers. In January, we are going to see a 75 cent difference between what an early years educator earns and the national minimum wage in this country. The reality is that there is a massive retention issue within the early years sector. We have to ensure that those wages dramatically improve to ensure there are enough places out there for parents and families and a proper working life for those in the sector.

I assure the Deputy that there is an urgency on our part in this regard. I agree with her - I do not want to say it is not just a social issue because social issues are important - but it is also an economic issue that there are people at home today or who are changing their working hours or working arrangements, not out of choice but out of a lack of access to childcare in a way that works for them, their working patterns and their lives and families. It is a social and economic issue that disproportionately impacts women. There needs to be a real urgency, and there is an urgency. There is also a degree of political consensus at least around the destination or the North Star. I hope that once the Minister, Deputy Foley, publishes the road map and action plan, which I expect to be in the coming weeks, we can have good collaborative scrutiny and work on these matters here and at the appropriate Oireachtas committees.

The Deputy referenced the previous Government. In fairness, I was in the previous Government. I led the previous Government for part of it. We did take a number of measures to reduce fees them year after year. I see Deputy O'Gorman in the Chamber. He was the Minister. I acknowledge his role too. We are committed to getting to the €200. The pay issue is important. That is why we have seen the order signed by the Ministers, Deputies Foley and Burke, and the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon. We have also provided funding for further moves on pay in 2026.