Mattie McGrath praises community childcare and warns of staffing crisis

Goed maith agoed, I too want to compliment. I should be in favour of this motion, it's very timely, and it's very, very important. Maul an oage aga teocic siad. And if we don't look after our young and nurture them properly, you know, it's a bad state of affairs. But I want to salute, in a cair dool siis, na maitharí go leir, the mothers who care for the children in their homes, and indeed the extended families, and the grandparents, and indeed, you know, neighbours or friends, it's in the mail, it takes a village to raise a child, with the old adage. But I want to really salute the visionaries out there, community creatures that are out there, and private ones as well, but community ones especially this evening, and they must be supportive. Because they're volunteers, and we can't kill the spirit of the volunteers. And Deputy Minister Niall Connan visited Neen Rekoschner on Newell last Wednesday evening when he was in Newcastle village, and saw for himself first hand. There's a wonderful Neen Rekoschner on Newell, which I was involved in the set-up and very proud to have been, and was the brainchild of Helene Nicra, a sister-in-law of mine, and indeed the voluntary board have continued to run that. And they have the responsibility of children, for instance, babies, toddlers, and after school, and indeed before school. And indeed, they also have the responsibility of employees. And they look after the employees, and there's a very happy relationship in that place, under the management of Mary and Joanne. And Mary, so, it's so important that we have proper conditions and wages. And indeed, we met Marie London, and it's there from the inception of this, which is there now over 20 years. And she made a very passionate plea, how the workers must be respected and supported. And sadly, they're not. They're treated as second-class citizens. They don't get the same rate of pay. They don't get the holiday pay. But, so, the voluntary boards are doing their best. And the early years, certainly, and supports will be helped to supporting them. But now they have another problem, is that recruitment and maintaining a staff. And they've been very lucky, because it's a wonderful place to work. They've stayed. The staff have stayed. But a number of them recently have had to retire and finish the times on CEE and whatever, and are finding it hard to replace the staff, which is a problem all over the country. So, it's a multi-faceted approach. I want to salute Care Bears, and they are Finan Childcare, and Balapurine, all around there. Wonderful institutions. Okay, they got public funding, but I tell you one thing. It was some difficulty to draw down that money and to get it, and to be architects, and to be managers, and to be builders, and be everything else. But they're wonderful success stories, many of them. And in many villages. And this started with a LACON five-dollar team. My own daughter was one of the first students into the first one, although she's 30 years of age now. I'll tell you when she was five. Twenty-five years, a growing egg forest. But I also want to, as I said, press on the government that we have to look at this. It's not going to be one size for all. And we have to remember to support the parents in the home, and allow them to be able to say it's the best of all solutions. Secondly, if the community child cares, and then the private child cares, as I said, as well. But, as I said, it has to be a holistic situation. Not all public, because that isn't working. We see the education system itself. It's difficult in challenges there, especially with special needs, and everything else, and the clamor for special places, which we have many in the country. And many places have got extra rooms, but there are some people left out also. And I could mention, Bansha National School are still awaiting a sanction for a second room there. And the boards of management, again, in those schools, and the principals and the staff, want to have this. And it's great to have people who want to care, and they want to give extra care to special children. They need to be supportive. And no room wasn't built in a day, but it's tough. And we do need more special schools, and we're in special schools in Clonmel, in Tipperary. And I'm saying that Ferry House, which is south of Clonmel, not being used anymore, of what it used to be, ideally located on the border of Waterford. The rivers are between us, because West Waterford are struggling for places as well. But this is a very timely motion. I know the Minister was here earlier. I know you're here now, Minister. And I hope that you will take, you know, the adversarial system of rejecting the motion. It's a good motion. We need all to walk together, together, and try, for the sake of the children, and the children get unborn, that need these places. As I said in my own one, because I knew it was up to six. And I intend to support the need. You know, this is what we have. My wife Margaret and I have 13 grandchildren. So we will be in need of childcare and childcare facilities for some time, and national schools also. So it's an evolving situation, and it's great to see it continuing. And these places, you know, that are so badly, badly needed. And the rules are rigorous. I know what they have to be. You're looking at the children, other people's children. And obviously very strict rules, and with HACCP, and the guidelines around food preparation. But look, they're very happy places, the mass majority of them. I've heard a deputy's earlier saying about, you know, situations where people are overcharged and didn't give them a free scheme. That's a pity. It's more and fewer a shin. It's important that this, as I said, there are future generations, and they need to be nurtured. And, as I said, we need to give respect for the board of management, the staff, management staff, and all the staff, from the management down to the cleaners, and the suppliers as well. And our community across the area, the Ninra Tarshii Forest, because it's really expanding. We have 120 dark teeth, and we have about, you know, 17 staff. And it's like an industry inside a small village. And it is an industry, one of the biggest employers in the industry. And people, I remember when we opened the doors first, parents came from New Ross, which was 17 miles away. I could not believe it, but that's the kind of demand was there. That has been dealt with to a good extent, but there's always a continuing need and continuing demand for extra support. And, like, while you have public funding, and, you know, it's great for these and department funding, for the buildings and the construction, many things and many community initiatives are suffering across the country for lack of continuing upgrades and maintenance support, issues like that. And when we look at that and be imaginative, whether it's community centres, whether it's, you know, a community crisis, no matter what it is, that there is a fund there for maintenance and contingency plans, whether there's accidents or lightning strikes, God knows what happens. And buildings get old, and they need to be upgraded, especially with modern heating systems and everything else. So, and the costs of running them, the cost of fuel. So, it's a, it's, it's not simple, but I was, it's one of my pleasures, great pleasures to have been involved, as I said, and still, I'm not on the board now, but I still have a contract. I love to go in to hear the children out in the yard, and then to see them walking from there up to the school. And, you know, it's, it's, it's just holistic, and it keeps the village alive. And every other community, I'd be impressed to talk about my own, but they're in Clown-Mell-Mond-Nahon, there in Cashman and Moon, and in the economy in the East, Balaprina, Siddharth Finan. Wonderful community questions, and many, many more than I haven't mentioned. Belle and Gary, I remember sister Clare, and Clare Cashman, sister, not sister Clare, sister Patricia, Clare Cashman, with a brainchild there. And we need to keep, to stimulate those activists, those people who want to do good, and want to provide facilities for, from the cradle to the grave, literally, but in these cases, for our child care, our child care places. So, Thank you, Deputy.