A flawed system of childcare

While State funding remains so depressed, and childcare workers are paid so little, the sector will continue to struggle

The most effective way out of poverty is through a job and any incoming government must provide direct and generous funding for childcare, rather than focus on cutting taxes or restoring pay levels. Economic recovery is underway but the high cost of childcare inhibits mothers who wish to enter the workforce from actually doing so and places a heavy financial burden on others.

Irish childcare is the most expensive within the European Union and, for parents with more than one child, can amount to the equivalent of taking on a second mortgage. State investment is 0.2 per cent of GDP, compared to an OECD average of 0.8 per cent. Childminding costs in Ireland are double that of the UK and three times of that in France. Because State funding is for 38 weeks, which excludes holiday periods, it is not designed to cater for full-time carers or for working mothers. Those shortcomings need to be addressed.

Read the full article on The Irish Times Website