Children's minister rules out ending fee freeze in childcare sector amid protests

Robyn, one, and her mother Elle Mulqueen from Ladybirds Childcare, Nenagh, during the protest  over Government funding at Leinster House on Tuesday. Pictures: Gareth Chaney/ Collins

Protesters from closed childcare providers converged on the Dáil on Tuesday afternoon demanding more funding for their businesses.

But Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman insisted there would be no ending of the freeze on fees charged by providers, saying the system was “absolutely central” to the Government’s core funding policy for the sector.