Childcare neglect - Issue never gets priority it needs

THIRTY years after Ireland’s non-existent childcare service was initially discussed by Cabinet ministers, major neglect of the system continues to this day.

State papers released after the expiry of the 30-year embargo show that official treatment of the issue was glib and dismissive of the findings of the task force on childcare services. To describe the report as overdue would be a gross understatement since the task force was appointed six years earlier.

Criticisms of the state’s failure to provide really effective childcare services have long been aired in these columns. Despite the appointment of a Minister for Children three decades ago, and despite the trenchant recommendations of the task force at the time, the issue never got the priority treatment it warranted.