Fee caps alone are not enough to solve crisis in childcare
Fee caps alone are not enough to solve crisis in childcare - The Labour Party
Labour Party spokesperson on children Mark Wall TD has today questioned whether government parties are talking to one another as a Fine Gael TD calls for fast-tracking a €200 monthly cap on childcare fees, despite fine Gael already committing to this. Deputy Wall said:
“It is bewildering to see a Fine Gael TD call for something that her party already committed to during the General Election. This will be deeply frustrating to many parents, educators and childcare providers as we constantly talk about childcare costs, yet we see no real progress. This call from Deputy Currie raises the question whether Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are even talking to one another on these critical issues of policy.
“The constant rhetoric from the coalition parties on childcare has focused on a ‘Ryanair’ approach, providing low quality and cheap childcare. While affordability remains a concern for parents, fee caps alone will not result in additional childcare places, pay fair wages, or stop providers from closing down.
“The Labour Party has consistently called for affordable childcare through a €200 per month per child fee cap along with developing a quality public childcare system. The constant focus of government parties on introducing a fee cap fails to acknowledge the many issues impacting the sector and falls short of what is needed to support parents, educators and providers.
“We need a system that delivers affordability for parents, equality for children and fairness for the childcare sector. We don’t need an action on fee caps, we need an action plan for a public childcare system, that delivers affordable public childcare and tackles the workforce challenges facing the sector.”