Affordable and accessible childcare needed in Waterford

A TD in Waterford has called for affordable and accessible childcare to be provided for parents in the Déise county.

Sinn Féin TD, Deputy David Cullinane said the delivery of affordable and accessible childcare education cannot be allowed to be added "to the scrapheap of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s broken election promises".

Commenting on the matter Deputy Cullinane said the Government must "urgently" give a timeline to deliver affordable, high-quality and accessible early childhood education.

He also said state-led capacity should be added where needed.

Speaking following his party's Dáil motion on the matter, Deputy Cullinane said that the time for talk was over and that parents across Waterford urgently want to see delivery. The motion highlighted the impact the crisis in the Early Years Sector is having on parents when it comes to the cost of childcare and difficulties in accessing a place for their child.

Sinn Féin’s motion was supported by the 43 organisations and trade unions who have come together to form the Together for Public Alliance, for a public system of early childhood education and care. It also had widespread support across the opposition.

Speaking on the matter Deputy Cullinane said: "Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael talked the talk before the election, now is the time to act. We are now over 100 days into the lifetime of this Government and we still haven’t seen any action on childcare."

He said Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, backed up by the Michael Lowry independents, have been ditching election promises, commenting: "They have abandoned the Occupied Territories Bill, delayed increasing sick day entitlement, delayed the pension auto-enrolment scheme and backtracked on increasing the minimum wage."

“Affordable and accessible childcare simply cannot be allowed to be added to the scrapheap of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s broken election promises," he said.

"That is why Sinn Féin brought forward a Dáil motion this week that calls on Government to honour their commitments to parents and to the Early Years Sector," he added.

He referenced Tanáiste, Simon Harris' commitment to a public childcare model ahead of the General Election and it being a key priority of Fine Gael was returned to Government

“The Programme for Government commits the Government to undertake a broad consultation and publish a detailed Action Plan to build an affordable, high-quality, accessible early childhood education and to add state-led capacity where needed," said Deputy Cullinane.

"Meanwhile, waiting lists for childcare places continue to grow in Waterford and costs continue to put huge pressure on parents," he added.

“These parents and their families cannot afford to wait any longer. We need to see a willingness from the Minister, in particular to engage with the Together for Public Alliance on the Terms of Reference for the consultation, and provide a detailed timeframe for the Action Plan.”