Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming into the House to deal with this matter. I am asking her to address the recent findings made by the ESRI that disadvantaged parents were twice as likely to have unmet childcare needs as those in better off groups. This is on the back of a report that was issued in the past few days. The document examines data collected by the CSO for 5,219 households and 13,186 individuals. The analysis made in the paper uses weights designed by the CSO in order to ensure the sample is representative of the population. The survey looked at whether households with persons in need of care, defined as children under the age of 12 years and people who were older or had a disability which required the provision of care for them, had an unmet need in making these care arrangements, that is, whether they needed more care than they were in receipt of.

The survey found that 24.5% of lone parent households had unmet needs. I found this shocking. Some 35% of households experiencing deprivation also had an unmet childcare need. Between about 70% and 90% of people with unmet needs report the reason as an inability to afford formal childcare services. Again, lone parents emerge as the group facing the worst situation, with 91% reporting that they cannot afford the required formal childcare service. When we talk about lone parents, sometimes people think we are talking about those who are completely in the social welfare system, but that is not the case. Many lone parents go out to work and are struggling to meet their childcare needs. We have had numerous reports from the ESRI and elsewhere and all know that the cost of childcare is crippling. It is incredibly difficult for single parents who are trying to rear a family and cannot afford to pay for childcare.

The affordable childcare scheme was announced by the Minister in 2016 and we had hoped it would be up and running by 2017. However, owing to ICT requirements, it is not yet ready. What comfort can we give to parents who find themselves between the cracks? Children do not have access to childcare services. While a child might have access to the ECCE programme, his or her parents are not able to provide full-time childcare because they cannot afford it and so cannot afford to return to work. The vicious circle begins and parents are not able to get out of it. Will the Minister explain to the lone parents watching these proceedings how they will be able to access the system? How will it benefit them? I am aware that it is income based, but the lone parents at the lower end of the threshold are finding it very difficult. One of the main reasons is the lack of affordable childcare services.

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