Minister Donnelly and Lorraine Clifford Lee set out Fianna Fáil’s vision for childcare and supports for families
Published on: 24 November 2024
Today, Minister Stephen Donnelly general election candidate for Wicklow, and Lorraine Clifford Lee general election candidate for Dublin Fingal West, set out Fianna Fáil’s vision for the childcare sector and the supports for families.
Since entering government in 2020, Fianna Fáil has halved the cost of childcare and expanded the National Childcare Scheme to include a dedicated registration route for childminders.
We have provided core funding to creches to increase their sustainability, deliver fee freezes and pay increased wages to staff.
But more work needs to be done. More work is needed to ensure that every family who needs a childcare place can access one.
That is why we have proposed a comprehensive plan on childcare structured around three core pillars: affordability, accessibility and quality.
Currently, many creches do not wish to expand due to issues with staff recruitment and retention. We will improve pay for staff in the childcare sector to address this and increase funding to ensure sustainability and viability in the sector.
We will also undertake targeted measures to increase supply of childcare places in areas where there are particular issues.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said Fianna Fáil are committed to implementing a range of measures to further support the sector.
He said: “Fianna Fáil is committed to supporting the childcare sector. We have achieved a lot in the sector since 2020, but we must go further.
“If Fianna Fáil is returned to government we will further reduce childcare costs to a maximum of €200 per month, place the ECCE scheme on a legal footing to protect it, and increase Core Funding to provide supports to creches.
“We will buy and build additional childcare facilities in blackspots to increase supply in a demanding sector, and supply more childcare facilities on school sites, including Irish-medium naíonraí.
Speaking on the matter, Lorraine Clifford Lee has stated that Fianna Fáil is committed to a universal approach to support families.
“We have a range of targeted and universal measures to support families. During our term in government, we have increased Parent’s Leave and Benefit, provided additional Child Benefit payments and provided GP visit cards to all children under 8 years old.”
She added: “We are committed to increasing the Child Benefit payment, extending parents leave from 9 to 12 weeks, set up a new Parks & Pitches Fund to acquire new lands for parks and playing pitches to help build liveable communities, whilst also establishing a fund for every Local Authority to develop, update and adapt playgrounds to make them more accessible for children with disabilities.
“This is only a sample of some of the universal measures we intend to take to support families.”
“Fianna Fáil is the party of education, and we want to support the challenges the childcare sector faces. We want to ensure that all children of this country have excellent access to education,” she said.
Fianna Fáil is committed to implementing these range of proposals if returned to Government, to further support families, and give the childcare sector the support they need.
ENDS
