Member's statement: Childcare

Member's statement by Mrs Cathy Mason on 24 February 2026.

MLA

Mrs Cathy Mason

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

24 February 2026

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Childcare

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5404112

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Soaring childcare costs continue to place a real strain on families across the North. Living costs continue to bite, and we must do all that we can to keep money in the pockets of hard-pressed workers and families. While the childcare subsidy scheme has helped to reduce costs, the draft childcare strategy lacks a commitment from the Minister to ensure that future subsidies will not be eaten up by inflation.

Providers continue to struggle with rising overheads, workforce capacity and staff retention. Childminders continue to be squeezed by the British Government's withdrawal of the 10% wear-and-tear tax allowance and by challenges with the minimum income floor. All the while, they eagerly await the findings of the review of the minimum standards from the Minister of Health, who seems either unable or unwilling to bring them forward. Perhaps the new leader is in the middle of making that decision for him. Who knows? Parents and childcare providers are clear in saying that the Minister of Education needs to spell out exactly how his strategy will cut bills for parents accessing early years and school-age childcare, support struggling providers and guarantee high-quality childcare. The strategy must be designed to serve every single child, with clear commitments made for those who have special educational needs and physical disabilities. The strategy must also set out a road map for the expansion of Irish-medium childcare and early years provision, ensuring that there is the capacity to meet the rising demand and to stop the Minister's current trend of viewing the Irish-medium sector as an afterthought. Accessible, high-quality and affordable childcare is fundamental to children's early learning and development. It is equally essential for families who are trying to balance work and home responsibilities. Over the past number of weeks, I have had the pleasure of engaging with the Irish-medium sector, childcare providers, statutory and non-statutory preschools, childminders and sectoral bodies. They all have the single aim of helping shape an early years and childcare system that has the best possible outcomes for children and young people, thus giving them the very best start in life. Each of those groups has real lived experience and knowledge of how the strategy can make a difference to people's lives. It is important that the Minister does much more than just acknowledge that. He also needs to listen and implement the required changes. I therefore urge everyone to make their voice heard by responding to the consultation on the early learning and childcare strategy. I also call on the Education Minister to listen to the growing concerns, work with providers and prioritise making childcare of good quality and affordable.

440 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:01 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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