Childcare report - Chance for landmark in social history

There can be no argument with the National Economic Social Forum (NESF) describing as very inadequate the implementation of policy on childcare, and as markedly insufficient the financial investment in the education and care of younger citizens.

Neither would anybody seriously argue with the recommendations in its report today on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), except that it proposes an idealistic rather than a practical solution.

The one recommendation that employers, and indeed employees, will home in on is that maternity leave should be increased by two weeks per year over the next five budgets, so that by 2009, women will be entitled to the payment for twenty-six weeks.