Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A 2021 survey by the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, titled, Where do rich countries stand on childcare?, found that families of average income in Ireland are spending up to one half of a two-person earning household to put two children in childcare. Researchers found that a couple with an average income would have to spend between a third and a half of one salary to pay for two children in childcare. The maths becomes very simple then, particularly when other costs, particularly in rural counties when one includes where people have to spend two euros per litre on petrol or diesel. Sinn Féin recently introduced the Employment Equality (Pay Transparency) Bill 2022, which will attempt to address the gender gap in pay by giving workers the ability to understand the going rates for those workers. That is a small step compared to the revolution we need to see in accessibility for women in the workforce with proper childcare, whether it is ELC or SAC.

When will the consultation process which the Minister has mentioned finish and when will the design of policy and the review with stakeholders be completed?

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