Knocklyon childcare service closures
Deputy Ahern says a newly acquired Knocklyon childcare facility has closed rooms and reduced flexibility, leaving parents without reliable care. The Tánaiste outlines plans for a childcare roadmap, increased funding and improved access alongside lower fees.
A childcare facility in Knocklyon in my constituency was recently taken over a by a new provider, which was recently bought by a UK group in a deal worth €75 million. Since the facility was taken over, there have been numerous room closures. Parents have effectively been stranded without childcare with no notice. The services have taken away flexibility in terms of reduced hours over the summer or attending part time in after-school care. The services are getting worse because they are now being run in the interests of the owners' pockets, and parents are afraid that this facility will withdraw from core funding. Obviously, the fee freeze announced in June will not apply to providers that have withdrawn. Parents have no option but to pay because childcare spaces are so scarce in the area. What is the Government going to do for those parents who are genuinely suffering because of a commercialised and for-profit childcare model?
Comment on this
We will publish a roadmap on how we create the childcare system I think everybody in this House wants. We had a good meeting of the Cabinet committee on this in recent weeks. Fees are one element, and we have a commitment to get to €200 per child per month in the lifetime of the Government. However, fees without access will only frustrate parents. We have increased the childcare budget to the largest ever, at €1.5 billion, which is up by 12% on last year. That is the highest ever level of State investment. I take the Deputy's point about private for-profit, but we are now seeing for the first time public money being used to deliver public facilities. The Deputy can expect to see that roadmap from the Government around budget time, where we need to move a number of things in parallel. The one that often gets attention is when are we getting to the €200. We are committed to getting to that in the lifetime of the Government, but we have to move the other streams alongside that, which I think is at the core of the Deputy's question. If he sends me the details of the Knocklyon case, I will have the Minister, Deputy Foley, come back to him.