Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Shutterstock

Call for increased investment in early years childcare sector, especially for under threes

Teresa Heeney described the situation for new parents as “unacceptable”.

INVESTMENT IN THE early years childcare sector must increase in the next Budget, particularly for children under the age of three, the CEO of Early Childhood Ireland has said.

Teresa Heeney of Early Childhood Ireland, an organisation representing the early years sector, described the situation for parents of young children as “unacceptable”. 

Heeney said it is common for parents to have difficulties accessing childcare in Ireland. 

She said many are put on “unsustainable waiting lists” that “aren’t even real” long before their child is old enough to attend. 

“In the same way as parents of five-year-olds can reasonably expect that they will find a school for their five-year-old close by, that has come to be the case for parents of three-year-olds,” she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland. 

They’re looking for a pre-school place for their child and in general, they’re able to find a good quality Montessori, pre-school, playschool close by to their home that their child can go to before they go to school.

“But that is not the case with investment in services for children under the age of three and that has led to maybe a re-imagining or a re-designing by a lot of operators where they’ve moved away from running baby places to running places for children over the age of two, which are more sustainable and which follow the line or trajectory of government investment over the years.”

In recent weeks, parents have outlined their difficulties accessing childcare for their young children. 

Heeney said Ireland has to “do better” for parents struggling to find childcare for their children which she described as a “huge stress”.

“At Early Childhood Ireland, we’re certainly saying that this next Budget, unlike last Budget, the last Budget invested nothing more in this sector and this Budget has to change pattern and we have to focus on this entire sector and particularly services for children under the age of three.”

In 2019, the previous government announced that €54.5 million would be spent on childcare in the 2020 Budget, including the introduction of the National Childcare Scheme allowing subsidies for families earning up to €100,000 per year.

Liz Carolan, a working parent currently on maternity leave, wrote a Voices piece for The Journal earlier this month on the issue of accessing childcare. 

She detailed how, in the final weeks of her pregnancy last December, she began phoning creches expecting to hear “eye-watering sums of money”, but instead was met with a long list of refusals. 

“All but one of the childcare places in my area refused to even take my name. One place offered a place for October 2022, when my then-bump would be nearly two,” Carolan wrote at the time.

It would cost more than a mortgage, and there would be no flexibility – the place was for Monday to Friday, for office hours, and I had to pay for every opening hour whether I needed it or not. 

“Early years childcare is an investment and should be a public good, not an industry. We will all benefit when provision is accessible, affordable and flexible. It is very hard to imagine how anything other than public provision will get us there.”

Are you affected by the lack of childcare places available for your small children? Contact voices@thejournal.ie if you’d like to share your experience with our audience. More details here.

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
20 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Barry Somers
    Favourite Barry Somers
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 9:55 AM

    Can we just cut to the chase,

    Childcare needs a massive change, the fees are massive but the staff are mostly paid very poorly. It’s the owners who mainly benefit.

    Whole sector needs big changes, bring pre school etc under dept of education, aim to relocate creches nearer to schools to reduce need for travel, make it free like school are.

    We don’t have an argument about people having to pay weekly fees for schools, we shouldn’t be debating it with creches. They should be free.

    Those that are children now will help pay for our pensions, it’s only right we pay for their care as children.

    169
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Alan Campbell
    Favourite Alan Campbell
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 11:33 AM

    @Barry Somers: my taxes are high enough already. It’s your child, you pay for it!

    53
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Barry Somers
    Favourite Barry Somers
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 11:45 AM

    @Alan Campbell: you forget that they pay for you when you get older.

    You ok with no money from younger generations in future?

    56
    See 3 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tricia G
    Favourite Tricia G
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 11:48 AM

    @Alan Campbell: So you’re fine with society excluding you from the taxes these children will be paying when yore old.

    38
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tricia G
    Favourite Tricia G
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 11:49 AM

    *you’re (fat thumbs, d’oh)

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mike Quinlan
    Favourite Mike Quinlan
    Report
    Aug 27th 2021, 6:52 PM

    @Alan Campbell: very sound logic there Alan

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mark H
    Favourite Mark H
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 11:02 AM

    Compared to the rest of Europe we are a joke. Heavily subsidised in other countries. My cousin lives in Spain and she pays less than 300 a month for the “expensive” creche… They blame insurance costs which may be true… But no matter what way you slice it government letting families down.

    73
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Alan Campbell
    Favourite Alan Campbell
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 11:39 AM

    @Mark H: parents are responsible for their children, not the government

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute me
    Favourite me
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 11:50 AM

    @Alan Campbell: the government has a duty of care to provide full time education for all children from age 4 to leaving cert age. You know that Alan, sure your paying for it through your really high taxes already. The 0-4 age bracket education and development should most definitely be brought into scope of the department of education. Your basic single guy responses are amusing but also embarrassing on your part.

    72
    See 4 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Barry Somers
    Favourite Barry Somers
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 1:47 PM

    @me: the type of response you’d think would cone from a immature teenager

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mark H
    Favourite Mark H
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 4:04 PM

    @Alan Campbell: Either you like to just stir the pot with such comments or your just ignorant. Children are a societies future. And remember these children will pay tax for 40 or 50 years… So makes sense to invest in them early, it’s not dead money and it ensure every child gets adequate educational and developmental opportunities.

    14
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Elliottirish
    Favourite Elliottirish
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 9:55 PM

    @Barry Somers: the account is a bot

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Contrary Mary
    Favourite Contrary Mary
    Report
    Aug 27th 2021, 8:47 AM

    @me: And many parents have to sue to get a child’s right in Ireland. We are failing our kids in more areas than this.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mary Walshe
    Favourite Mary Walshe
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 12:21 PM

    Can’t understand why Ireland does not adopt the Scandinavian model of childcare. All children entitled to a crèche place. All childcare state run, and heavily subsidized.
    Fantastic paid parental leave too. Not to mention brilliant health care too.
    Sure they pay high taxes but they get something back for it. I’m long past childcare but I wouldn’t mind paying a bit extra to see my grandchildren and their children live in a properly run country

    45
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute deirdreanndoherty
    Favourite deirdreanndoherty
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 11:50 AM

    I worked in childcare for 20 yrs no Investment in public childcare . All privately owned echhe scheme has helped but only for 3 hours a day . For pre school . ‘ we need more comunity run creches and after school care , funded by the state creche fees are cripplling fammilies

    40
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Lesley Hennessy
    Favourite Lesley Hennessy
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 11:46 AM

    If parents are responsible then why are the schools not charging fees? Why should the taxpayer pay for teachers if only some of the taxpayers have children? Your argument about “your child your cost” doesn’t follow for education. And the early childhood sector is part of educating children.

    27
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Anna Long
    Favourite Anna Long
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 12:33 PM

    National Childcare Scheme will only offer a subsidy if annual income is €60,000 NOT €100,000 the scale stops at €60,000 so middle earners get feck all ,just lower incomes get the savings

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Barry Somers
    Favourite Barry Somers
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 1:48 PM

    @Anna Long: I’m in the bracket of no subsidy, but I still wouldn’t begrudge those below it.

    It’s not their fault, it’s failed government policy’s

    12
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute The next small thing
    Favourite The next small thing
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 12:05 PM

    I think it’s time we moved to a heavily subsidised childcare system, whether private or public. We also need to move to free education e.g. free books, uniform etc and not have parents borrowing to get their children ready for school.
    Obviously this has been an issue for some time with previous governments giving large increases to childrens allowance as a way of dealing with the problem (this has just exasperated it). so childrens allowance cuts to pay for any new initiatives will need to be on the table (of course this would then affect stay at home parents/child minders off the books). But as is so often in this country, we have government departments doing their own thing with no joined up thinking and no vision on how to actually solve the problem. Throwing money at it now might alleviate it for a period but won’t solve it long-term.

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bibi Orange
    Favourite Bibi Orange
    Report
    Aug 26th 2021, 2:54 PM

    ISRAEL ??

    3
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel

 
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds