Childcare to be an issue ‘for 10 years at least’

AS a 25-year-old lone parent on a Community Employment (CE) scheme, childcare is one of the biggest issues in Susan Brennan’s life.

Since four-year-old Nathan was born, she has done several jobs and completed a number of training courses in an attempt, she says, “to better myself.”

Her present job, an administrator with One Parent Exchange & Network (OPEN), is her best yet.

“I love my job. It’s very rewarding as I love dealing with people and their problems. I’m obviously working to pay bills but it’s so much better if you really get something out of your work,” she said.

Paying the bills, especially childcare bills, has not been easy for her in the past. With a weekly income of under €200, she had to rule out placing her son in any of the private creches around Coolock in Dublin where she lives as they cost €100-€150 a week.

From aged two to four, Nathan went to a community creche while Susan worked part-time. It cost €35 a week but out of the blue, they were notified that the fees were to rise to €50 and Susan had no choice but to take him out.

She couldn’t fall back on her parents as her mother died nearly a year ago. Her father, who she now lives with, works himself.

“I only have one brother and he doesn’t live in Dublin anymore. When he wasn’t working, he was a great help but I couldn’t afford to pay him all the time either. My mum and dad both come from big families and their brothers and sisters have been great for taking Nathan for days here and there. But sometimes I felt like he was going to Tom, Dick and Harry as there wasn’t any one person I could rely on as they all have jobs and families too.”

Since Nathan started school, Susan works from 9am to 1pm every day. She thought childcare would cease to be an issue because of the school day but she hadn’t counted on things like in-service training days and mid-term breaks.

“I’ve just been asking other mums how do they cope. There is so much time off. Last week, I was ringing around at night trying to find who was free to take him in the morning. I nearly always manage to find someone but it’s not ideal and it’s horrible to be always asking,” she said.

When she’s not working, Susan often looks after her cousin’s child and her cousin will repay the favour when Susan needs her. It’s the only way the two mothers can manage.

“I never expected to be a single mother. My ex-boyfriend and I had been together for six years and we were engaged when I got pregnant,” she admits. Nathan’s father isn’t around as much as Susan and her son would like.

Susan worked in quality control at Gateway before her son was born. The production facility closed while she was on maternity leave and she couldn’t apply for a similar job as childcare was a barrier again.

“When I’m not working, I bring my son everywhere with me. I’ve always had to. I’ve never had anybody but family mind him. It’s a trust issue and also money. He’s a good kid. Hyper like a lot of four-year-olds but we’re very close as we spend a lot of time together,” she said.

For Susan, a subsidised training-centre creche would be ideal. When Nathan was younger, she did several training courses at the Doras Buí Lone Parent Resource Centre in Coolock as childcare was provided for.

“Childcare is such an issue for lone parents. Whenever we do courses, it and housing are the two things that everyone talks about,” she said.

“I did a course on politics at one stage and it was all about using your vote.

“I learnt a lot from that as before that a lot of us thought voting was pointless. But now I know it’s the only way to get things changed.

“I know childcare will be a constant issue for me for at least another 10 years. I love learning and bettering myself and I’d really like to do social work training. I want to work with people with abuse and addiction problems. I find that kind of work rewarding.”