One of the key issues women across the country will be asking about is what the candidate, and his or her party, are planning to do about the crippling costs of childcare in this country. To get the politicians to actually implement change in this area, women, and men, need to vote for candidates who are committed to investing in affordable, quality childcare.

It is the continued lack of affordable childcare that is preventing so many Irish women from going back to work.

Currently, the costs of childcare in Ireland remain amongst the highest in the EU. Paid childcare for infants under the age of three in Ireland is extremely expensive and in many cases prohibitively so.

Read the full article by Sinead Moriarty on The Irish Independent Website