Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Good childcare is an essential cog in the social and economic structure of a country and is essential for a proper functioning society and economy. Proper childcare facilities allow parents to pursue employment, for example, with the knowledge that their child or children are being safely looked after. People need an income to pay for bills, rent, mortgage and healthcare etc. Without the facility of childcare, many parents would not be able to work, would be dependent on the State for support and would not be in a position to pay their bills. In many instances, childcare in Ireland is not affordable for parents and costs can be prohibitive, thereby putting childcare out of the reach of many parents.

According to figures released by the then Department of Children and Youth Affairs at the end of 2019, the average rate for a crèche place in Ireland was approximately €800 per month per child. Monthly costs, however, can exceed €1,000 in some areas of Dublin. These figures show that those who can afford to pay for childcare, pay the equivalent of a mortgage in fees and parents are often left with no expendable income. It is also the case when two parents are working that one parent's wage goes almost entirely on childcare fees. Lone parents find the high cost of childcare to be a disincentive to returning to work. Childcare providers are struggling with increasing costs and recruitment issues and find it difficult to recruit qualified childcare professionals.

These are some of the problems relating childcare in Ireland. Sinn Féin is putting forward solutions to these problems some of which, as outlined in this motion, seek to implement proper pay scales for childcare professionals, to reduce centre-based childcare fees, and to raise the childminding grant to €1,500. Parents entrust their children at an important point of the child's development into the care of these professionals, who are expected to socialise and educate these young children. It is time we gave childcare professionals, who do an incredibly difficult job, the proper pay and conditions they deserve.

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