Report calls for ministry dedicated to childcare

A NEW Government ministry dedicated to childcare and pension credits for stay-at-home mothers are among the recommendations of a new Oireachtas report released yesterday.

The report, by the Oireachtas Justice and Equality Committee, is intended to feed into an impending Government decision on a wide-ranging childcare package.

Produced following three days of hearings and submissions by 20 interested groups and stakeholders, the all-party report makes 12 recommendations, many of which have already been suggested in individual party proposals.

Launching the 26-page document yesterday, Fianna Fáil TD and committee chairman Sean Ardagh said one of the recommendations called for Government spending on childcare to be increased from 0.4% of GDP to 1%, an amount equivalent to almost €1.2 billion.

Such measures were crucial to improve not just childcare but society as a whole, he said.

"The situation is placing many families under severe strain in addition to reinforcing the cycle of disadvantage and inequality."

Asked what practical impact the report would have on the policies of this Government or the next, Mr Ardagh said studies from all-party committees "certainly influence decisions taken by Government in the short-term and in the medium term".

Referring to last month's Irish Examiner childcare survey, Mr Ardagh said the cost of caring for children was a major issue with many people feeling they cannot actually afford to have children.

"An important step in adopting a childcare model that is centred on the needs of the child will be to ensure that policies support both working and stay-at-home parents and do not favour either above the other," he said.

Fine Gael's Jim O'Keeffe said it was "quite clear that we are way behind our European partners in that we need a state-of-the-art childcare infrastructure which is accessible to all".

Labour committee member Joe Costello highlighted a recommendation that a dedicated ministry for childcare be established.

He said the brief is part of the Department of Justice but should be given its own Cabinet minister attached to either the Department of Health and Children or the Department of Education and Science.

One of the committee's recommendations calls for "a firm commitment to be made to supporting disadvantaged children, children with special needs and children with disabilities".

In addition to vetting childcare workers, yesterday's report also recommends an improvement in the status and conditions of childcare workers.

Further recommendations call for payment in either cash or vouchers to users of quality preschool or Montessories and universal childcare for all pre-school children.