Childcare funding - Voters will expect more State help

DESPITE Government claims for the economic success of policies encouraging married women to work outside the home, the cost in human terms is clear from the new Irish Examiner survey.

It has revealed a chain reaction of negative repercussions for hard-pressed families.

Across the country, parents are being crippled by the unbearable cost of childcare.

Due to soaring house costs in Dublin and other cities, commuting has become a wearisome fact of life for thousands of people, forcing them to resort to costly childcare services.

On top of this scenario, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) has issued a warning that parents who leave young children alone for hours in the home run the risk of being prosecuted by the gardaí.

One eye-catching statistic from the survey conducted by Lansdowne Market Research shows the proximity of a childcare facility to the home was the most important factor for the majority of parents.

Under time pressure to drive to and from work after dropping off their children with child minders, beleaguered parents are being forced to adapt to circumstances, placing less emphasis on the quality of care on offer than the closeness of a facility.

Nor, it seems, are they inclined to speak to other mothers before making their childcare choice. That was true of Dublin where none of those questioned had sought first-hand advice even though 15% looked for references.

Despite the already mind-boggling cost of childcare, the National Crèche and Nurseries Association claims the only way to make such facilities affordable is by giving annual subsidies of €2,500 for each child.

In its pre-Budget submission, we learn that a quality childcare service currently costs on average e264 per child per week.

This lends considerable weight to the call for means-tested tax relief for parents.

In an unexpected but possible side-effect of encouraging more married women to join the workforce, it appears that a new generation of latchkey kids is now emerging in our cities and towns.

Forced to seek affordable housing down the country, to an increasing degree parents lack the support of grandparents and the extended family.

As a result, children as young as 12 years of age are being left alone at home, mostly at night but also after school hours.

Unwittingly, many people fail to realise that charges of negligence could be brought against them.

Clearly, children between 11 and 16 are too young mentally and emotionally to cope on their own. Too embarrassed to tell their parents they are scared, many call Childline just to speak somebody.

While the ISPCC is not out to frighten parents, it would be folly to ignore this timely warning.

The safety hazards are all too apparent in the chilling question posed by Caroline O’Sullivan, the ISPCC’s director of services.

“While the 12-year-old might be mature, how would they cope if a fire broke out?” she asks.

“Would they be aware of the dangers of answering the telephone or the door to somebody?”

By turning the spotlight onto the financial pressures faced by young families, the Irish Examiner has exposed the undoubted case for Government to ease the burden on tens of thousands of parents who are paying more for childcare than on their mortgages.

Despite being one of the richest countries in Europe, we lag far behind in childcare provision.

With an election looming and the Exchequer awash with cash, the Coalition will face a voter backlash if it fails to give meaningful aid to the thousands of hard-pressed parents who are caught up in Ireland’s childcare crisis.