The cost of childcare for families with young children has often been described as carrying the burden of a second mortgage. While the budget provided some welcome relief for some families, parents are still feeling the pinch of childcare costs. Notably, parents are concerned that the childcare fee cap will not assist crèches that opted out of the core funding scheme, that it is limited to children in full-time care and that it still does not go far enough. Parents who are not in the core funding scheme or are not using full-time care need more help to bring down childcare costs. Will the Minister advise on whether further action can be taken by the Government in this regard?

We are trying to place a continuing focus on childcare because I, like many others in the House representing their constituents, know well the cost of childcare.

The core funding scheme is the mechanism in place at the moment. It is an effort to try to bring as many crèches and childcare facilities into a State-based scheme as possible. However, I recognise that there are people outside it. There was an effort to try to increase childminding in the home by extending the tax-free threshold and the number of children who can be cared for in that environment.

I will discuss it with the Minister, but the core funding scheme is the model that works. That said, I recognise that many childcare providers, including some in my constituency, choose not to be in it for one reason or another. The State is trying to provide a maximum benefit to the maximum number of people and has done that through the core funding model.