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ALL THIS MONTH The Good Information Project has been focusing on gender equality, examining both the barriers facing women in Irish society and potential solutions.
In recent polling by The Good Information Project/Ireland Thinks, more than half of respondents said universal State-funded childcare should be a priority to achieve in terms of gender equality.
The topic was also discussed in our Open Newsroom event this week. MEP Frances Fitzgerald acknowledged how difficult it is for parents to combine work and family life.
“Ireland has made great strides in this area, but actually the only solution is to put far more money into it and to make it a universal service, accessible to all,” she said.
Hannah Deasy, Communications Director at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), suggested an expansion of the community childcare model could improve the situation for parents.
Our panelists have put forward a number of potential solutions – but should the State go even further than that?
We want to know what you think: Should there be a network of State-run childcare centres?
This work is co-funded by Journal Media and a grant programme from the European Parliament. Any opinions or conclusions expressed in this work is the author’s own. The European Parliament has no involvement in nor responsibility for the editorial content published by the project. For more information, see here.
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There should also be equal support systems in place for single fathers to avail of and help them stay in their children’s lives.
@Mjhint: How are single fathers not staying in their children’s lives? Given single fathers implies they are the primary caregiver.
@Felicity Hensen: i don’t think Single Fathers have much of a status if they weren’t married to the mother
@Felicity Hensen: How?? You’ve never heard of a single father that doesn’t have custody? Or is it that they’re not a father if they don’t have custody?
@Mjhint: Yes there should. A lot of single men after the breakdown of a relationship can only afford to rent a room in a house share, it leaves it impossible for them to take their children for overnights etc.
@JusticeForJoe: Single father implies they are the primary caregiver, just like single mother.
One has to wonder exactly what it has to do with the provision of state child care services.
@Mjhint: there will never be that because equal rights only work when it favours a woman and not a man
@Felicity Hensen: oh dear. Get online listen to our stories about keeping our children in our lives & having positive male role models which is a requirement for healthy successful confident children. Change your perception of what fathers are or are not. The good thing is that there is now a concerted effort to tell our stories and to stand together and describe the difficulties fathers face. History will be good fathers.
@Mjhint: well said. My sentiment exactly
@Felicity Hensen: “single father” doesn’t imply anything of the sort. That’s you making that assumption. A single father is someone who co-created someone and is currently single. It doesn’t imply anything else at all.
@Mjhint: Never hear of the family court, it’s the place where custody battles are played out. There is nothing stopping you seeing your children unless the court has ordered that you can’t.
@JusticeForJoe: It most certainly does imply that the father is the sole carer and parent in the child’s life. Sorry if that doesn’t suit you but that’s exactly what a lot of you mean when you speak about women who are lone parents
@Ann Reddin: the anti family court ? Well that comment tells me many things. I’ve been in the family courts many times and won many times but still restricted by children’s mother from seeing them. The stats of the family courts tell you all you need to in relation to fathers rights. Clearly you get to benefit from that but it will change I promise. We are making slow but steady progress and eventually we will reveal the abuse of both fathers and children in these courts. We have an epidemic of male suicides often because of these courts but once your OK then why would you want change. Remember fathers matter no to you clearly but to children.
@Ann Reddin: that comment about the single fathers term has a huge amount of presuppositions in it. So clearly discussion on important matters like parental equality isn’t your strong point.
@Felicity Hensen: It doesn’t imply anything of the sort. It simply means fathers who are currently single and wish to maintain their part in the lives of their children. It says nothing about custodial arrangements. Your claim is a logical non sequitur.
I think that it would be better for society if resources were given to supporting keeping a parent at home for the first 5 years or so of a child’s life. The rush to get every parent out into the workplace may not be what our society, or our children, need.
@Dick Barrett: Ideally it would be good to go back to a situation where a couple working 40 hours between them could afford a house and not need childcare except that both partners should be able to divide the work between them whatever way they found suitable.
@Fifty Shades of Sé: those days are long gone and unlikely to return unless SF come into government and you’re unemployed
@Fifty Shades of Sé: I agree, the older family model we had allowed one parent to work and one to stay at home and still be able to afford a house. What happened with “equality” was that property prices were allowed to drift upwards so that most people needed two incomes to get a mortgage, and that is still the case for the family with one single income around the average wage. One idea I had was that a tax free allowance (tax credit) be given to everyone and a parent could get the tax credit of a non working child as well as non working spouse. Also time to introduce tax credit for mortgage payers in recognition of the fact that they have removed the state and tax payers of the burden of supplying them with a home.
@Dick Barrett: There should be state kindergartens/nursery schools for all children from 3 years on as part of the educational system (no uniforms!!!).
One parent of under 3s should have the option of using creches or accessing paid maternity leave, the other can work as usual
When will Irish people realise that FFG dont do services. They tax and they outsource things to their buddies who get paid too.
@Mogh Roith: what this has to do with the poll I have no idea. I would point out that out sourcing and subcontracting is often cheaper than employing a whole host of Public Servants. However Public Service procurement is covered by EU law
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014L0024-20220101
and any outsourcing is subject to these advertising and appeals rule so if you or anyone believe that proper procedures and due process were not followed in outsourcing then one has recourse through the EU law process which would be much more useful than random unverified and un-backed up claims
Imagine the lawsuits.
@iohanx: And the whingers
How about those who have kids pay an extra tax and that goes towards state childcare? Or considering population growth is one of the most damaging problems our planet faces maybe also consider tax incentives for those who don’t have kids? Just throwing out some ideas.
@Sal Paradise: we should be encouraging people to have more children – not giving incentives for staying child-free. That would have a negative impact on our future generations paying taxes.
Childcare should be subsidised and linked to individuals affordability from 12 months up to to 7 years.
@Vic’s Burd: Less population will lead to less strain on services, less housing shortages. Otherwise you are in a viscous circle whereby you constantly need more people to pay more taxes to support the growth in population. In turn more and more damage is done to our planet.
@Sal Paradise: population growth is absolutely not one of the most damaging problems our planet faces, in fact most western countries are way below the demographic replacement ratewd which will have long term effects on how we care for our elderly. So please, enough with the false statements.
@Sal Paradise: a young workforce sustains economic growth and helps fund services for retired people. China’s former one-child policy is becoming a big problem for them in filling jobs and caring for older people in society.
@Laura Walsh: Wow….so you disagree with my viewpoint and you use the term “false statements”. Have a read up on impact of global population growth on our resources. Quick Google will give you various articles on it.
@Sal Paradise: European population has been in decline for decades
@Sal Paradise: ouch. I’ve studied demography at masters level but yep, will have a “quick google” instead.
@Laura Walsh: You’re welcome. Google is an excellent resource.
Now break over. Gotta get back to work so I can pay more taxes.
@Vic’s Burd: Only those who have children should pay for the care of those children while they work. Those people who don’t have or don’t want children should not have to pay, through taxation, for the children of those who wish to breed.
Yes- Iceland does this and its fabulous. Highly trained providers, well-paid staff, great centers and most women in the workforce.
In France school can start as early as 3: As long as they’re potty trained.
Now in France they’re also off a whole f#£&ING Wednesday off and you have to pay for childcare, but that’s not the second mortgage like we paid in Ireland.
With Ireland’s record of State run facilities you have to have Q marks?????
Having a child is now a choice made by women and along with that choice comes the responsibility to provide financially for its needs. It is more financially viable some to remain single mothers and to restrict or deny access to fathers to get more state supports like housing, medical and financial aid. One parent one child units I can understand but those with two three or more are making a choice that is a drain on state services. If the father does not support then the state should have a system of forcing them to pay. Otherwise for some it becomes a lifestyle choice rather than a need for supports. It’s all about choice.
@lorcmulv: I believe the state has a way to deduct child support from a father who is not paying maintenance for their child. Some rules changed a few years ago. But this may be bypassed by leaving the father’s name blank on the birth cert. But this is off topic
State core funded staff and capped fees would be more sustainable. The business of the child care facility could then spend any capital grants that are not staff related and private fee income on keeping the facility up to standard.
Absolutely. And a state run electricity service, and gas, and telephone……oh wait…..mm
Not sure how practical something like this would be; Assuming there are approx 50-60k children born per year, that would mean approx 100-120k children in the 3-5 year age group. Limiting childcare supervision ratios to 1:20 – which itself seems a little tough – would necessitate 5-6000 such facilities. Add in a regulatory body with the capacity to inspect every facility at least yearly would necessitate another 50 senior staff. Already on salaries alone you’re talking about 200 Million per year. Thats before buildings etc etc
As long as there’s equal support for families who want to have one parent at home with small kids.
It would be fairly easy to work with employers to provide child care facilities for their employees children if they have to attend a place of work. As an aside this would encourage employers to allow people work from home. Empty office space could be used for childcare and a financial arrangement between the state and employer and parent could be arranged. The big advantage here is that a child’s parent would be on site and child care would not involve leaving a child at a strangers place and maybe a few miles from work. Further the parent could share breaks with their child rather than not see them between 8 and 6. Just think what an on site creche would mean for working parents and parent/child relationship. Schools could also stay open until 6 with non school activities.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: we do need to start from scratch in thinking about working parents and child care and see parent and child as a unit and not make having children a burden on working parents and a constant juggling of time to cater for everyone’s needs
AFFORDABLE , yes , but NOT if children are going to be abused in them , a sad and bad reality of these times .
Great idea. Something has to be done. It should be affordable but it shouldn’t be free. Those not using the service shouldn’t be on the hook for it
Why is such a mismatch in Demand and supply in most of the services housing, hospital, childcare? Register for childcare when you are pregnant.
I would like to be able to say Yes but the State does not have a great record in the protection of children in it care.
On rte a couple bought a house for 400 less than rent. That’s where I problem is.
Blaming the “single parents” ..again. Good Old Catholic Ireland….where girls get themselves pregnant …
Can people pay for their own child care? Something for nothing generation.
have your say