86. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding developments towards reaching the commitment to reducing childcare costs to €200 per child, per month, in the context of a number of childcare providers pulling out of the core funding scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59969/25]

Sentiment score: 0.07

My question relates to the promised reduction of childcare costs to €200 per child per month, which we all campaigned for and we much anticipate. Will the Minister give us an update on the progress towards achieving that goal?

Sentiment score: 0.39

I acknowledge what the Minister said about the State not being able to mandate providers to get involved in the scheme. Would she also acknowledge that many have pulled out? It is a cause of huge concern for parents where their child is in a facility exiting the scheme rather than being included in the scheme. It would appear those providers are saying the incentives are not there for them to partake in the scheme. While she cannot mandate them to get involved, what incentives are being put in place? What specifically is the Government doing to target those childcare providers who are saying they cannot do this, that they cannot operate within this framework and that they are out? What are we doing as a Government to get them back in? The Minister and I and all the TDs in our parties campaigned to achieve this goal. I understand it is over a five-year period and it will come in phases, and I acknowledge the work that has been done so far. What can we say to assuage the concerns of parents whose children are in facilities exiting the scheme?

Sentiment score: 0.14

I appreciate what the Minister said about the investment. I acknowledge the huge investment and commitment to making this happen. I also appreciate her acknowledgement that the pressures on childcare providers are not the same throughout the country. In a constituency like Dún Laoghaire where the cost of living and the cost of accommodation are so much higher, would the Minister consider, as part of the incentives being put in place to ensure childcare providers remain within the schemes, that the incentives might be varied from one area to another? That would be in recognition of the fact that the challenges are greater for childcare providers in an area like south Dublin than they might be in an area where the cost of living is lesser. Will the Minister commit, acknowledging this is going to happen in stages, to giving us a timetable for how this might happen, when it might happen and when each stage of the delivery of this commitment in the programme for Government might happen?

Sentiment score: 0.56