Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of the childcare crisis which we are seeing around the country, particularly in my own area. Places are nearly impossible to find and parents are paying insane prices for childcare and deposits to reserve a place in a childcare facility that is far away from their home and workplace. Staff are in insecure employment because of the insecure and unaffordable commercial model that we have.

It is a pattern that we see in every part of Ireland. Parents deserve affordability, children deserve locality and staff deserve job security and fair wages. Some of the stories from the childcare crisis are heart-wrenching. People have reported having had to pay over €1,000 as a non-refundable deposit to secure a place before their child was even born. Some report spending multiple years hunting for childcare places to no avail and having to give up work and other commitments because they have to mind their child, or else their families undertake an immense amount of unpaid labour in caring for the children. Other families who manage to find and secure a place are under extreme pressure to pay bills and pay high prices. Crèches are closing because of rising operating costs, yet demand keeps increasing. The free market economics are not simply not serving parents, children or staff.

The failure to provide affordable and accessible childcare disproportionately harms women, who bear the burden of childcare. We are meant to encourage and empower women and if they must straddle the fence between working and looking after their children, it is a zero-sum game. If we are to genuinely support the lives of women in Ireland, we need to ensure we have a childcare system that is fit for purpose for both staff and parents. The women employed in these sectors do not need words of encouragement. They need support from the Government and a complete overhaul of the system that is currently in place.

What is the answer? How do we guarantee locality, affordability and security? The answer is a public childcare system. The State must take on the role of planning for childcare in the same way it does in planning for primary school places. It must make sure there are guaranteed places for every child and equitable access to options across the country. The only way to keep the crèches open is direct State operation and the upskilling and training of staff.

The failure to take responsibility over the years has only made the issues worse. For example, in my own local village, we saw the childcare facility close down even though the demand was there, so parents do not have a place to put their kids. However, the large new development that has gone in has a gym instead of the childcare or crèche that previously existed. It should be up to the State to plan for childcare facilities in the same way that we do for primary schools, and to guarantee every child a place, guarantee affordability and, on this May Day, guarantee good terms and conditions and security for staff, with a pension.