50% of income spent on childcare

CRÈCHE fees are so high in this country that two parents working full-time, and earning the average industrial wage must hand over about half of their joint income to pay childcare costs for two children.

The latest international study of such costs relative to average salaries — carried out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2004 — shows that across 27 countries, Ireland is second only to Switzerland in terms of high childcare costs.

The average industrial wage is €32,600 here, while the OECD research, carried out in 2004, puts the average cost of full-time crèche care at €625 a month.