I am raising childcare again today. There are not enough places and we have poorly planned spaces. Dublin West is peppered with either unused crèche buildings or sites where crèches were supposed to be built but were not. I know this is happening in other parts of the country too. Developers are currently required to supply crèche facilities in large housing developments but not to industry viable specifications. The result is that some crèches are built too small, are poorly designed or are badly located and they can often be left empty for years. We also have sites where crèches have not been built even though the developments are complete. During a childcare crisis, we cannot have childcare places going to waste. We must have a planning system that prioritises and designs for childcare.

Sentiment score: -0.15