Ruadhán Jones
Katherine Zappone Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has criticised the “flagrant mistreatment of childcare providers” by Minister Katherine Zappone.
In a recent statement, TD Tóibín suggested that the actions of her department threatens the childcare sector as a whole.
“Minister Zappone pledged that in addition to the 70% wage subsidy, the Department for Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) would top up the remaining 30%,” said Mr Tóibín.
“However, there has been no calculations or figures provided to support the payments. Accordingly, payments were made that were either too much or too little.”
Mr Tóibín said that providers were given funds to pay teachers, but were then told they owed the DCYA more than they had been paid.
“One teacher was told at 11pm this past Saturday that she owed the DCYA over €20,000.
“The Minister’s Office has not been able to be contacted,” Mr Tóibín continued. “Announcements are made late at night on the weekend – twice on bank holiday weekends.
“In the words of one childcare provider, their conduct has been nothing short of ‘psychological abuse’.”
Mr Tóibín concluded the statement, saying: “This government’s record on childcare will have been to break many providers within the childcare sector.”