SF adds to childcare package calls

Pressure on the Government to deliver a major childcare package in next month’s Budget increased further today.

Launching its own pre-Budget document on the issue, Sinn Féin called on Minister for Finance Brian Cowen to prioritise early childhood care and education as well as income supports for children.

Launching Putting Children First – Time To Deliver in Dublin, Sinn Féin’s Dáil leader, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said: “The biggest omission from last year’s Budget was a comprehensive package of measures on early childhood care and education.”

Party chairperson Mary Lou McDonald said Sinn Féin had played an early and prominent role in highlighting the childcare issue as a national priority.

“Over a year ago, Sinn Féin consciously made childcare a central theme of our political deliberations. We did so because we understood the importance of this issue for many, many people.

“The debate has arisen largely due to the intense pressure placed on parents and children and family life in an economy with high demand for labour from employers.”

The party’s pre-Budget submission today called for 12 months maternity leave, six months of which would be paid.

The 25-page document also wants child benefit to be increased to €155.92 per month for the first and second child and €192.85 for the third and subsequent children.

Extending the full medical card to all under-18s is another central part of the Sinn Féin childcare proposal.

The proposals are costed at €1.5bn euro per year, based on estimates from several sources including the National Economic and Social Forum and the Combat Poverty Agency.