Claire Kerrane
Roscommon-Galway · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“For carers and the loved ones they care for, respite is really important. It should not be beyond us to ensure that respite is guaranteed and consistent rather than having a situation where service providers go year to year looking at lists of people in terms of who they can and cannot give respite to due to funding implications.”
“Approximately 160 of the 13,000 to 15,000 childminders in the State have signed up. There is clearly an issue. No matter how hard the consultation was in terms of its significance, it clearly has not worked. There is a major issue and there is a huge job of work to be done.”
“The Minister's amendment also speaks about parent's leave and benefit, maternity leave and the leave available specifically to two-parent families. There is an ongoing anomaly, which I have raised many times, for one-parent families. It would cost a small amount of money.”
“It is as though we are reading two different motions. Contrary to what both Ministers have said, the motion is not just about affordability and accessibility. In fact, in that first €10 a day childcare plan in 2024, I ensured it was not just about affordability and accessibility, as I have done with this motion.”
“There has not been one year where the Minister has not had to go out of her way to get the JLC to the table to actually deliver on pay. Most times, they end up in the Labour Court. I cannot fathom how that can be in any way called an effective approach to pay. There are educators who would earn more in a supermarket in many cases.”
“I met some who said to me that they find it difficult to do a four-year degree and come out to earn an amount of money per hour that they could earn in the local supermarket. That is no level of respect for these professionals, without whom we would have no childcare sector and would not have to worry about places or cost.”
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“For carers and the loved ones they care for, respite is really important. It should not be beyond us to ensure that respite is guaranteed and consistent rather than having a situation where service providers go year to year looking at lists of people in terms of who they can and cannot give respite to due to funding implications. In County Roscommon alone, we have 120 people on waiting list for day and overnight respite. Ahead of the budget, I request that respite be looked at. It is not only about the break for the loved one and the carer but should avoid the need for long-term residential care sooner than perhaps would otherwise be the case. I ask, therefore, that respite would be looked at and perhaps also on a more multi-annual basis in terms of funding.”
“When just 1% of childminders in the State have signed up for the regulations, she cannot say there has been excellent consultation and things are going well. Things are not going well. We need to look at child minders, look at our educators and at our providers. If we do not get pay right in terms of our educators, we can forget about costs and about childcare places; we will have no childcare sector at all.”
“There has not been one year where the Minister has not had to go out of her way to get the JLC to the table to actually deliver on pay. Most times, they end up in the Labour Court. I cannot fathom how that can be in any way called an effective approach to pay. There are educators who would earn more in a supermarket in many cases. They wait on the whim to see whether they will get 20 cent, 50 cent or 60 cent. That is no way to treat professionals. They are professionals at this level. We have had constant issues with core funding. The Minister said a review is called for in the motion but there is already a review. There is a review into year one. We are looking at costs from four years ago, which are totally irrelevant today, instead of looking at the core funding in its totality.”
“It is as though we are reading two different motions. Contrary to what both Ministers have said, the motion is not just about affordability and accessibility. In fact, in that first €10 a day childcare plan in 2024, I ensured it was not just about affordability and accessibility, as I have done with this motion. It is about our educators. Mostly, the motion is about paying them what they deserve. It is also about childminders, core funding and parents' leave, issues I have raised repeatedly since I became my party spokesperson on children in 2024. The Minister cited an omission of high quality. Our educators and school-aged care practitioners are high quality. The problem is that high quality is not being recognised in terms of pay. The Minister said JLC is an effective approach to pay.”
“We have a crisis in recruitment and retention. In some counties, the turnover is up to 50% and it is actually 50% in some. We have to give respect and recognition to early years educators. Giving them 65 cent or €1.35 here and there and waiting to see what the Labour Court decides is no way to treat professionals in the sector. If we do not make a move as bold as I believe we should by taking on the wages, we will not have the sector, including the workforce. We will not retain them to ensure children see the same face every day, which is a positive benefit for children's development, but would also ensure we have a strong and resilient childcare sector into the future. That is not there right now as I bring this motion forward.”
“The Minister's amendment also speaks about parent's leave and benefit, maternity leave and the leave available specifically to two-parent families. There is an ongoing anomaly, which I have raised many times, for one-parent families. It would cost a small amount of money. It is wrong that babies who grow up in a one-parent family have less time with their parent than children who grow up in a two-parent family. That should be corrected and it needs to be done. We want to see the extension of parent's leave and benefit to bring parents - in both one-parent and two-parent families - to being able to spend the first year with their children. That is important and we need to make far greater headway on it. Lastly on the motion's requests, the Government needs to do its homework on the State taking on the wages.”
“That would be a way to build capacity and do so quickly. I met a community childcare provider recently that has expanded its places and will be able to provide an additional 40 places in its childcare setting. There are 140 children on its waiting list. The provider knows that, as parents see the extension being built, they will hope and expect to get a place for their child, while capacity will not come close to demand. Affordability continues to be an issue. The cost reduction in the maximum fees payable announced recently puts the cost today closer to €200 per week than €200 per month. It is incredible that we still have no roadmap for how we will get to €200 per month. That should be in place. The plan should be published. It was all the talk of the last general election.”
“Approximately 160 of the 13,000 to 15,000 childminders in the State have signed up. There is clearly an issue. No matter how hard the consultation was in terms of its significance, it clearly has not worked. There is a major issue and there is a huge job of work to be done. I bring forward the six requests in this motion in good faith and because I want to see a better childcare service. There are measures that have come along under the State-led model, which I welcomed, but I would like it to be expanded in the building blocks expansion grant scheme. I have raised this issue with the Minister many times. If we can develop State-led, not-for-profit childcare now under the new State-led model, why can we not expand the building blocks scheme to buy existing buildings instead of focusing solely on new builds and new purchases?”
“I met some who said to me that they find it difficult to do a four-year degree and come out to earn an amount of money per hour that they could earn in the local supermarket. That is no level of respect for these professionals, without whom we would have no childcare sector and would not have to worry about places or cost. There is an ongoing issue with childminders. I note the Minister's amendment references having extensively consulted childminders on the regulations. I have no doubt those efforts were made, but the situation is serious for childminders and my question is, if they were extensively engaged with, why do we have a situation where well under 200 of them have signed up to the regulations and registered with Tusla to date, with the deadline of September 2027 looming?”
“I am glad to have the opportunity to bring forward this motion on childcare and the early years sector. There are a number of significant issues in the sector that have been ongoing for some time, not least of which is affordability, but equal and almost more important is accessibility. Cost is totally irrelevant to parents who cannot find a place that will take their child. There are also ongoing issues with the workforce, in particular the educators, who year-on-year - this year, last year and the year before - are at the whim of a joint labour committee, JLC, which might give them 65 cent, €1 or €1.35. Once again this year, no increase will be in place in time for September. That is no way at all to treat these professionals.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges: — the importance of affordable and accessible childcare for children and parents, neither of which are being achieved for many families across the State; and — that there is no early years or childcare sector without the Early Years Educators and School-Age Childcare practitioners who work in it; notes that: — childcare costs remain far too high and are in excess of €800 per month in many parts of the State; — access to childcare is now a major labour market issue affecting our economy; — the need to ensure regulations for childminders are fair, and are aimed at growing the number of childminders, not reducing them, while acknowledging that less than 200 of an estimated 16,000 childminders have registered with Tusla; — there are between 40,000 and 50,000 children on waiting lists for childcare places, many which do not exist due to severe shortages of childcare places, especially for babies under one year; — there is no published plan, despite being promised, on how to deliver a €200 per month childcare service to parents; — continued issues are being experienced by childcare providers with the Core Funding support; and — the current mechanism for pay increases, via an Employment Regulation Order, is not working for professionals in the sector; further notes the welcome introduction of State-led childcare facilities; and calls on the Government to: — immediately publish a roadmap to deliver €200 a month childcare, with a clear timeframe for the implementation; — extend the Building Blocks Extension Grant Scheme, to allow for the purchase of existing buildings, not just new, to increase childcare capacity quickly; — increase pay for Early Years Educators and School-Age Childcare Practitioners from September 2026, and begin work on examining the State taking over wages and associated costs in the sector, as a first step to a public model; — extend Parent's Leave and Benefit, to ensure a baby can spend their first year with at least one parent; — ensure the widest possible consultation with childminders on the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Childminding Services) Regulations 2024; and — initiate an immediate and full review of the Core Funding supports, as committed to in the Programme for Government.”
“It is true to say that the level of funding is not adequate. Galway County Council, even with the recent uplifts in additional funding that have come from here and there, is so far behind due to years of underinvestment and not receiving an adequate amount that it is going to take some time to catch up. That is why the specific ask from the council should be heard by the Government and made available. The nub of the issue remains. There are smaller counties with smaller land areas and smaller populations that have more outdoor staff, more council resources and receive more money from central government than Galway County Council. That is the nub of the issue, and it has not been answered again this evening. None of us is any the wiser as to why that is the case for Galway County Council.”
“When we look at the funding year on year for the second largest county in the State, it is typically second last or last in terms of the level of funding it receives. This is stifling development across the county of Galway. We also see question marks over value for money where the outdoor staff are not there. With simple basic things like the litter that has to be gathered up, the services have to be contracted out. That is not value for money. We should have the staff and resources to do it ourselves.”
“As my colleagues have said, the funding Galway County Council receives is below the national average, yet it is the second biggest county in the State. It makes no sense and it has a huge impact on every single person who lives in County Galway. It impacts council resources, and it has a significant impact and is really seen on the ground in terms of outdoor staff, who have been absolutely slashed across Galway County Council. I am very proud to represent east Galway, and in particular the town of Ballinasloe. It is regularly pointed out to me in relation to the maintenance of the streets, roads and homes across Ballinasloe and the towns and villages throughout County Galway. It makes no sense.”
“When I put this to the head of the national service, she told me that if there was an issue one day in court, the service would look at it again. However, what are the consequences of that day in court? That child could be sent here, there or anywhere. Looking at it the next day really is not good enough, given the consequences that this can have on a child's life. Will data be held in relation to that legal representation, given that it genuinely has been an issue?”
“I believe that the Minister would agree and acknowledge that legal representation has been a major issue and one that GALs themselves have brought forward. It is something that they are genuinely concerned about it and something I have raised with the Minister many times. Given that it genuinely has been an issue, will it be looked at and data kept in terms of where legal representation from a GAL is sought and either approved or not approved? I have asked many times and I still do not have an answer as to why we would remove the guaranteed legal representation for a GAL standing in a court of law in which they may never have stood before, usually against Tusla and its representation and a parent and their legal representation. A GAL who has never been in a court in their life could be standing there with no legal representation.”
“That record-keeping by the national service is important and I do not understand why it cannot be retained and managed within the national service. That may be something the Minister will look at. It was new to me, certainly.”
“I thank the Minister. I am glad she referenced record-keeping at the end of her contribution because an issue has been brought to my attention about the records of children. The new service is not going to seek any existing records of children and is not going to hold any records moving forward, which I find very odd. There will be children who will grow up who will have GALs. They might have one or they might have a number of them throughout their time. When those children get into adulthood, they may seek their records, information or correspondence - a letter that they wrote to a judge of the day or whatever it may be. All of that information is really important to them, especially for children who, regardless of the reason they end up in the care of the State, have some level of trauma.”
“It is apt to raise this question on the national service now that it is under way. Does the Minister have any figures for the number of practising guardians ad litem , GALs, who have signed up and will now be part of the national service?”
“How wide is the open call for submissions going to be? How are we going to ensure that every single childminder in the State knows that it is happening and knows they have a way to have their say?”
“This is certainly an issue on which we are all very much in agreement, not least because we desperately need to retain the childminders we have and we need more of them. We have heard anecdotally, particularly through the media, about childminders who have decided to end providing that much-needed service. The Minister and I know the greater level of flexibility, particularly in rural areas, it provides over an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. formal childcare setting. That is really important, particularly in rural areas where there may not be that level of capacity or formal childcare settings and, therefore, childminders become part of the family and such a significant part of a child's life. That is why it is special and we should seek to retain these childminders in as many numbers as we can.”
“Obviously, I will follow up on that tomorrow. It is very clear that there is an issue when you look at the number of childminders who have registered with Tusla. It should be of concern to all of us and that is why this review is so important. I do not know if the Minister has up to date figures. The most recent figure was, perhaps, 160. The Minister can correct me if I am wrong. Based on that figure, the review is important but it is really important there is some level of a communication campaign with clear information on exactly what the regulations look like and what they will mean. There is confusion and we need greater clarity, particularly clarity on the inspection. That is really what many, not all, childminders fear. Any of us would be concerned about a stranger coming into our homes. I ask for that to be looked at.”
“I also want to raise with the Minister the issue of the childminding regulations. I understand that the review of the regulations is imminent. We need to ensure that we get the regulations right. That is what we all want. It is very much what childminders want. Can the Minister provide further information on when the review will take place?”
“What is more disgusting is that good, decent and proper voluntary organisations that provide homes to our most vulnerable children, and which are regulated, inspected and must account for every cent, are struggling to remain open. Some face closure and although we cannot give them the money they need to keep operating, we are looking at giving millions of euro to international investors that are not subject to regulation and inspection.”
“The issue I am raising is that while funding to Tusla has increased, the question is where that funding is going. Given the crisis that exists for any child who is in care and while acknowledging that foster care is absolutely the number one option, I ask the Minister, where fostering is not available, to look to invest within the voluntary sector. I was really alarmed to see correspondence from America in a couple of instances recently looking to see whether people would be interested in setting up residential places in Ireland. International companies are looking to Ireland as a way to make money on the back of our care system. That is disgusting.”
“It seems lots of money can be given to organisations that are not regulated or inspected and which do not have to do anything in respect of those regulations. Will the Minister look specifically at money for expansion solely in the voluntary sector?”
“The committee on children will be writing to the Minister, if she has not already received our correspondence, asking that she seek a specific allocation for Tusla in the budget that would be used to expand residential places within the voluntary sector. I am really uncomfortable with the reality right now whereby we have voluntary residential services that have been in place for decades, are regulated to the hit, and rightly so, have to account for every red cent they receive and return any unspent moneys, while at the same time, we see millions of euro being given at the drop of a hat for special emergency arrangements, SEAs. That is a kick in the teeth for those voluntary organisations that do everything right and have to fundraise to keep their doors open.”
“I wish to ask the Minister about voluntary residential care services in our State in terms of looking after some of our most vulnerable children, namely, children in the care of the State. I recently visited a voluntary residential service and was really impressed. It was literally like walking into any other family home in the country. I want to ask the Minister specifically about investment in these voluntary, not-for-profit services. Targets have been set for increased capacity by Tusla but they have not materialised.”
“It is a purpose-built facility and is ready to go. That is a project that really needs to be looked at in terms of the eight overall projects. Again, I would love to see building blocks extended. We have so many empty buildings in the State. Let us use them for childcare and for communities.”
“I know I am like a broken record, but it would be remiss of me not to mention Boyle in north Roscommon. The needs analysis, which was very well done, showed that the national benchmark is 20 childcare places per 75 households. In the town of Boyle and in the surrounding rural area, there are 20 childcare places per 1,043 households. There is a real need in Boyle, and that has been proven through the needs analysis I shared with the Minister and the forward planning unit, which very kindly gave us an extremely helpful briefing this morning on the model. A former childcare facility on the outskirts of Boyle has become available again. It was available and then it was not. It is now available again. The childcare committee has passed on the information in that regard. We have a unique opportunity now.”
“There there is the ability to work, pay tax, get out in the morning and have your child in a safe place where they are looked after and educated, in many cases for the entire day. I want to ask about building blocks and extending it to purchase existing buildings rather than just focusing on new builds, simply in view of the level of need.”
“I welcome this, but we all know, and it is no secret to say, that eight locations will be announced this year to provide, I understand, about 800 places. We have to look at the level of need. We know there are between 40,000 and 50,000 children on waiting lists across the State. Ahead of the budget, I want to ask the Minister again about the next phase of building blocks, given the level of need and demand that exists. I met IBEC last week to discuss women in particular not being able to return to the workforce. They now see access to childcare as a major labour market issue. We have the impact, typically, on the mother but also on the family as a whole and the child.”
“I want to begin by wishing Deputy Ennis well. I look forward to working with him both in the House and on the committee. I congratulate him on his appointment. I want to ask the Minister about the eight locations that will be chosen this year for the State-led childcare facilities, which is something I very much welcome. I would really appreciate an update on where we are at and when we will see those locations announced, particularly as we come to the halfway point in the year.”
“This is something the Government has a say on. It is something that we can do and we can make a difference. We can end that vicious circle for householders in rural areas who pay a lot more for their electricity than those in other parts but then suffer from outages. It is not right and I ask Members to support the Bill.”
“It is important to acknowledge the ESB workers given the sites they have to go out to as well as those engaged in tree felling and tree services and what they have to try to deal with and the conditions they have to endure when they are under pressure to get power back. This issue needs to be resolved once and for all. We need to do right by those householders who, when a storm comes and trees fall causing major issues, suffer outages for days on end. This is something that can be solved. For new forestry now being planted when we have the new forestry programme, we need to ensure that we get this right. We have to do that for householders and particularly for vulnerable customers. Being on a vulnerable customer list with ESB does not mean much bar an acknowledgement and some bit of notice of a power outage if that is possible.”
“I am very glad to co-sponsor this legislation with my colleague, Martin Kenny. For those living in Roscommon and Galway, the people I represent, and particularly for those in north Roscommon, no part of Roscommon is immune from trees falling on power lines during storms. Storm Éowyn really put a spotlight on the issue, with householders at the time left for 15, 16, 17 or more days with no electricity, no water and in some cases no heating either. We have a vicious circle when this happens. A storm comes. There is huge damage. We talk about what needs to be done and all the failures but nothing happens. When a storm hits, I get a call from certain people in my community and I know what they are going to say: the trees have fallen and the electricity is down.”
“Unless we acknowledge that deprivation and those levels of poverty and those at risk of poverty, we are very much failing those people who experience it and live it, day in, day out.”
“It is really regrettable that the Government's very long amendment fails to acknowledge those people who are living in poverty and who are experiencing deprivation. The rest of the amendment speaks to all of the budget measures from last year, all of which remain ineffective while people continue to live and experience poverty. The second part of our motion is a commitment to introduce a cost of disability payment. The Government should commit to doing that in the next budget. The Minister should commit to a cost-of-disability payment in the next budget. There is an opportunity to do that this evening. The Minister did not commit to it in the amendment but I hope he will here this evening because people need to know that is coming.”
“When the SILC data is published annually, I always look at enforced deprivation because they are the people who cannot afford a decent pair of shoes, who are struggling to keep the heat on in their homes or are struggling to have a meal with meat once a week. On the figure for 2025, it is unfortunate that the CSO does not actually speak to and label various household compositions and who is in those households in terms of disabled people. They are classed as people out of work. A total of 39.2% of those people had lived and experienced enforced deprivation in 2025. That figure is up from the year before. That is stark. It represents people who are really struggling, day-to-day, to heat their homes and have a warm meal.”
“There are two very straightforward asks in the motion. They are asks that deal with the reality that disabled people the length and breadth of our State are living. It is a reality that was shared with us by them when they came to the gates of Leinster House. It is difficult for people to come to the gates of Leinster House to tell strangers that they are rationing fuel or struggling to put food on the table, and to feel that they have to say it. That is a great shame on one of the richest countries in the world. It is an amendment that very much ignores the lived reality. The amendment the Government has brought forward is extremely long. It does not once mention the words "poverty" or "deprivation". It ignores that lived reality.”
“One of the survivors said today they feel that from the State, it is a case of, "We're sorry, but not that sorry." There are so many survivors excluded from the scheme. Can we please look to expand it?”
“I have just attended a press conference held by my colleague, Kathleen Funchion MEP, Patricia Carey, the special advocate for survivors, and two survivors who spoke at the conference and who are excluded from the mother and baby institutions payment scheme. It is hard to look at a survivor in his 70s who recounted the abuse that he faced when bordered out and that he lived with for so many years of his childhood. The other survivor was from Temple Hill, one of the institutions excluded and an institution that I have referenced in this House many times. We have a pot of €800 million for this institutional payment scheme. Some €78 million has been spent and we are two and a half years into a five-year scheme. Can the scheme now be expanded, as the special advocate has looked for, to include those survivors who have been excluded?”
“That recommendation needs to be implemented. Only the Department of public expenditure can implement it. While I respect the ongoing talks and it is important they conclude, as they go on and as strike action is due again next week, we need the Department and the Minister to acknowledge that the recommendation will be implemented. I believe that can do this.”
“Everyone in this House should be extremely concerned at the ongoing situation within the National Ambulance Service. Paramedics save lives. We need them and we need more of them. I was very proud to stand with paramedics and others on the front line on strike in Loughglynn in Roscommon town last week. During that first strike action there was a lot of commentary on deals that had been on the table previously that were rejected. Of course, what was not said was the fact that those deals gave with one hand but took away with the other in terms of allowances. The main finding of the 2020 independent report was that salary scales needed to be updated to match the major upskilling we have seen over the last two decades. Paramedics have waited six years since that report. We need to see that finding delivered.”
“Result was these three children can grow up together and continue [to care and look after each other]. The GAL said that "If I was not independent and not provided with [the] ability to have the ... conversations with this foster family and to consult with my solicitor 'in the moment'. This outcome would never have been possible." They would not have had the ability to bring the application under section 47 and the children would have been separated in two different families in two different parts of the country that evening. I cannot understand why we would remove the guaranteed legal representation for GALs. There is no GAL looking for legal representation willy-nilly. They look for it so they can be the best voice for the child in the court proceedings. Nobody can tell me why that is being removed.”
“This specifically asked for the Tusla foster care committee to present to the judge the reasons why they only approved [two of the three siblings]... My solicitor called me to give evidence to the judge. Because they had met them, the GAL could say that the foster family had fully committed to taking all three. The GAL was able to tell the judge how capable and committed these foster parents were, having visited them in their own home, and that their children were now adults and that they had lots of support and plenty of space. The court adjourned for the evening. The next morning, the GAL said that Tusla told me and the others that they had ... decided to approve the foster family for all three [children], due to the issue being raised ... by the GAL and the lodging of an application.”
“When they were in here last month, one GAL set out a case that I want to read into the record: I was a GAL for three siblings; they had been in care in different foster families for three weeks while Tusla tried to find them a permanent foster family... Tusla found a potential foster family that I was able to visit, the foster family were delighted to be able to offer a place for all three siblings. I went to court the next day, when I got into the court Tusla solicitor announced that this foster family was now approved, but was only approved to take two of the [three] siblings, the youngest would have to go somewhere else, another foster placement in a different county and a different province. I consulted [there and then] with my solicitor, and they agreed that [we] would lodge a section 47 application.”
“They will be in courtrooms where Tusla will have legal representation and where the parents, if they are there, will have legal representation. The GAL has the most important job of all, being a voice for the child, yet they will stand in a court of law without legal expertise. That is of no benefit to the child who is at the centre of court proceedings. It is really concerning. Judge Simms, who appeared on the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last week, was in here last month with GALs. I hosted them in the audiovisual room, so they could outline these issues. It is hard to take anything positive from the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last week but one tiny positive was seeing the powerful advocates that the GALs were on that programme.”
“As my party spokesperson on children, I am really glad to have the opportunity to speak on this motion, particularly about the importance of the voice of the child in court proceedings. This is an issue I have been raising with the Minister, Deputy Foley, repeatedly and I am glad to get the opportunity to raise it here this morning. The Minister of State will be aware of the new service being established for guardians ad litem , GALs, a system that will regulate them. That is welcome and GALs have no issue with it. Where issues have arisen and where they have flagged concerns is twofold. The first is their independence. They will go in with Tusla under the same Department. The second is the fact that there will be no guaranteed legal representation for the GAL in court proceedings. GALs are not legal experts.”
“I thank the Minister. In her closing remarks, she might let us know the action that has been taken. Has she met Tusla since that programme was aired last week, for example? Why are we not looking at the 13 voluntary residential services that have agreements in place with Tusla? Staff in them have experience of 25, 30 and more years' experience. We should be looking at those providers. There should not be any room for profit-making when it comes to children in the care of the State. Again, I make the point that we have residential services in the voluntary sector that are regulated to the hilt. They have to account for every single red cent. They are fundraising to keep their doors open to stand still. We are throwing money then at private providers, some of which are providing what we saw last week on the television.”