Parents to call for affordable, public childcare in National Day of Action

Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman, told the Irish Examiner last month that although the department would look at cutting childcare costs, parents will not see another 25% cut in the cost of childcare in the upcoming budget. File photo

Parents across Ireland will take part in a National Day of Action to call for public, affordable childcare on Tuesday with the National Women's Council.

With Budget 2024 due on October 10, and parents struggling to find quality childcare for their children, campaigners say government must commit to providing a secure and stable start to the children of the nation.

“The joy of finding out I was pregnant quickly turned to panic,” Sinéad Massey, a parent-of-one, said. “At just 12 weeks into my pregnancy, I had called 12 creches in three different counties, and I still couldn’t get a place. 

I had an Excel sheet with each service name and where I was on the list. This was March 2020, and by September 2023 my child was still tenth on the waiting list in one of the creches. 

"By luck, I secured a childminder through a friend of a friend of a friend. This is not a unique situation: this is the childcare sector in Ireland.” 

The lack of affordable childcare is now the single biggest barrier to women’s equality in Ireland, Director of the National Women’s Council (NWC), Orla O’Connor, said.

“It has been shown, time and again, that a public model is good for women, good for children, and good for society. Today, we are calling on government to transition to a public model of childcare similar to our public school system. 

"We are also calling for the promised 25% cut in costs to parents as a stop-gap measure in Budget 2024.” 

In last year's budget, childcare fees were cut by 25% reducing costs by up to €175 a month.

The director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) Orla O'Connor said: “It has been shown, time and again, that a public model is good for women, good for children, and good for society." File photo: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland

But Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman, told the Irish Examiner last month that although the department would look at cutting childcare costs, parents will not see another 25% cut in the cost of childcare in the upcoming budget. Mr O’Gorman previously committed to halving childcare fees over two budgets.

The National Women’s Council is leading the day of action with a panel discussion in Liberty Hall on Tuesday morning and a call to parents to take part in a social media campaign online.

“A public model would ensure that every child, no matter their parents’ financial situation, has a right to an early years education," NWC’s Care Officer, Eilish Balfe, said.

"It also means the women who most need it — lone parents, low-paid workers, and women from minority groups — can access childcare on an equal footing. It creates more choices for these women, enabling them to work, or to return to education, or otherwise participate in community and political life.”