Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has said that the Government clearly has no plan or intentions of cutting the cost of childcare, making it affordable for parents and building much-needed capacity to ensure access in the first place, and has no commitment to early years educators.

Teachta Crowe began his remarks by remembering Mary Prior, a friend and neighbour who passed away recently. Mary’s childcare facility was an institution that supported hundreds of children and their parents in the Springfield area of Tallaght down the decades. Teachta Crowe offered condolences to her husband Oliver and their family.

Speaking in the Dáil last night, Teachta Crowe said:

“Sinn Féin are advocating for parents who are at their wits’ end. First, they have to find a childcare place for their child, and then they have to figure out how they are going to afford it. They also have to work out how they are going to get to that childcare place. We are preventing parents from being able to go back to work in too many cases. No parent should have to decide between having a family or staying with their job – not in this day and age.

“The voices and needs of early years sector workers have been disregarded by Government, and now it is families who are paying the full price. The level of staff turnover for private early learning and care facilities in the South Dublin County Council area is among the highest in the State. Workers are being forced out of the sector that they have trained and studied hard to enter and love being part of.

“This Government clearly has no intentions of cutting the cost of childcare, making it affordable for parents and building much-needed capacity to ensure access in the first place, and has no commitment to early years educators. All the talk before the election was just that.

“Sinn Féin would not simply reduce the cost of childcare; we will also work to increase capacity in the sector so that parents can not only afford childcare, but can also actually access childcare.”