Early childhood education and care in Dublin Fingal West is no longer a gap in planning. It is a failure of prioritisation. Dublin Fingal West has one of the highest concentrations of private childcare provision in the country, yet one of the lowest of community childcare provision. That imbalance has not happened by accident. It is the result of the State stepping back and leaving provision to the market, and families are paying the price as a consequence. Across Dublin Fingal West, particularly in the rapidly growing towns of Rush and Lusk, thousands of houses have been built and young families and couples have moved in, yet the essential public infrastructure that is community childcare that should accompany that growth has not kept pace with the development. I receive constant emails from parents in my constituency who cannot easily access early education and school age childcare. Parents are on waiting lists before their child is even born. They cut their working hours because the fees are too high. They are forced to take whatever place they can get, not the place that best supports their child. It is not a functioning system. It is patchwork. Private providers no doubt play an important role but early childcare cannot be left almost entirely to private operations in a rapidly expanding area like Dublin Fingal West. My constituency has been left with one of the lowest levels of community childcare provision in the country. That is not equity; that is neglect. What makes it even more frustrating is that solutions are available. There are suitable sites in both Rush and Lusk that have planning permission. The land exists, the demand is clear, and the demographics are undeniable. If the Government truly intends to expand State-led childcare provision, then Dublin Fingal West is exactly where the commitment should be tested. It is the perfect canary in the coalmine. The Government speaks frequently about building State-led early education models but families in my constituency do not see that ambition reflected on the ground. They see housing developments completed before the childcare facilities are delivered. They see population growth without the matching public services. They see political spin without urgency. Early education and care is not an optional extra but essential infrastructure. It enables parents, particularly women, to remain in the workforce. It supports early childhood development. It strengthens communities. When the State fails to provide it adequately, families bear the burden, so today, I am asking the Government to commit to prioritising Dublin Fingal West for State-led community-based childcare facilities. Will it engage with Fingal County Council and the Fingal childcare committee immediately on the identified sites in Rush and Lusk? Will it acknowledge that leaving one of the youngest populations in the country with one of the lowest levels of community childcare provision is simply not acceptable? Dublin Fingal West cannot continue to be an afterthought in national childcare planning. Families deserve more than promises; they deserve delivery.

Sentiment score: 0.07

I thank the Minister of State and welcome what she said. Dublin Fingal West would be the perfect area to roll out a scheme like that. I welcome that capital funding will be used to acquire or fit out the buildings. That would certainly help in my constituency. I would also like to address the Government's commitments to reducing childcare costs to €200 a month over the term of the Dáil. That is obviously welcome. However, we must be very clear about the language we use here. When we talk about cheaper childcare, we reduce this sector to a bargain bin service. It starts sounding like a Ryanair advertisement where the lowest fare wins. That cannot be what early childhood education and care becomes. Affordability does matter - of course it does - but quality must be number one. I am glad the Minister of State acknowledges that in her statement. It is worrying to see providers threaten a judicial review on the employment regulation order, ERO, in the sector. That shows how unstable the sector is. A Band-Aid is holding the sector together. We do not need a patch. We need to rip off the Band-Aid and have a transformative moment, like Donogh O'Malley bringing in free secondary education or Niamh Bhreathnach getting rid of fees and opening third level to a generation. Those decisions were not tinkering; they were bold and brave. They recognised education as a public good. I urge this Government to recognise early education in the same vein and start a transition to a fully public childcare model so that parents have real choice and every child has access to quality, accessible childcare.

Sentiment score: 0.34