Dublin is ‘starved of childcare resources’
The party carried out a detailed examination of the Department of Justice’s Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme (EOCP), comparing the funding each county receives with the number of children aged under four living there.
Dublin comes almost bottom of the league, despite the fact that childcare in the capital is more expensive than anywhere else in the country.
Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard Bruton said Justice Minister Michael McDowell had “totally lost touch with the reality” facing parents in the Dublin area.
“The stark reality is childcare in Dublin now costs almost double (that) in the rest of the country, typically costing €200 per week for an infant,” Mr Bruton said.
“To pay for two children in childcare, a parent would need to earn €30,000 before tax.”
But the department dismissed the criticism, saying the EOCP was geared towards disadvantaged areas, such as the Border Midlands Western and Southern and Eastern regions.
The EOCP, which is part-funded by the EU, aims to “improve the quality of childcare, to maintain and increase the number of childcare facilities and places, and to introduce a coordinated approach to the delivery of childcare services” according to the department.
It was originally to run from 2000 to 2006, for which €499 million was allocated. But the Government has committed funding to extend the programme beyond next year.
Fine Gael’s analysis shows in a three-year period the four Dublin committees and the committee in Co Cork fared worst for funding.
The Co Cork committee received €1,327,510 for the 24,334 children in its catchment area or an average of €54.55 each.
The Dublin city committee came second bottom, receiving an average of €54.97 per child.
Dublin South received €62.83, Dublin Fingal €75.45 and Dublin Dun Laoghaire €88.91.
Leitrim, the top-ranked committee under the Fine Gael analysis, received an average of €435.14 per child.
