Childcare Debate Rings Hollow if Providers are Forced to Close - Tóibín
The Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has said that pre-budget proposals from the various political parties are 'utterly meaningless' unless we stem the exodus of childcare providers from the sector.
Speaking today, Deputy Tóibín said: "We know that over the past five years well over 180 childcare providers have left the sector and closed their doors. The core funding model from the Department of Children is not enough and is closing down childcare providers. If childcare providers continue to close their doors en masse then nobody wins. Sinn Féin or the government parties can propose ceilings on the cost of childcare all they want but the reality is that placements are an issue - not just costs. I know of parents who are putting their children on waiting lists for childcare from the moment they are born, such is the lack of capacity within the sector".
Deputy Tóibín continued: "Childcare costs are crucifying parents across the country with some parents paying €1,276 a month for full time care. The government is currently only investing the equivalent of 0.2% GDP into the early childhood education and care sector, while the UNICEF benchmark is 1%. There are four cohorts of people struggling when it comes to this sector: Parents, children, providers and staff. Parents deserve affordable childcare with adequate spaces to accommodate their children. Children deserve nothing short of the highest standard of care and education. Providers, like any businesspeople, deserve to be able to make a profit and to survive within the sector. Staff working in the sector need job security and proper wages. What has happened thus far if that government have placed a ceiling on the income earned by providers, without putting proper core funding in place, thus crippling these small businesses".
"Meanwhile the government are putting tens of thousands of euro into the pockets of big chain providers while completely neglecting the small yet hard-working, largely female-run businesses who need the support most. It makes no sense for Sinn Féin and government to propose subsidies or caps without simultaneously working to save the sector from closure and seeking to make these providers viable so that they'll stay and we can have increased places for children. Aontú has arised this issue dozens of times in the Dáil and we will continue to fight for the sector", concluded Tóibín.
