More of the same from Government on childcare
More of the same from Government on childcare - The Labour Party
Labour’s Children, Disability and Equality Spokesperson Mark Wall TD has said that today’s childcare announcement from the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality confirms that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael still have no credible plan to fix a childcare system that is failing families, workers and providers. He warned that yet another delayed and detail free approach will not deliver the affordable, accessible childcare parents were promised, nor the stability the sector urgently needs.
Deputy Wall said:
“There is no coherent plan from Government to get to grips with the issues facing the childcare sector. We have Phase One of a plan without seeing any of the other phases, while Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael continue to pour money into a system that is no longer working.
“Today’s announcement by the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality is more of the same from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. They continue to put off reducing childcare fees for families, while throwing more and more money at a system that is fundamentally broken. This is not a plan, it is a Minister scrambling around in the absence of one.
“I welcome the fact that Government is finally looking at capital investment in state led services. The Labour Party has been campaigning for this for a number of years, so it is positive to see Government beginning to acknowledge the need for state led childcare. However, there is no detail on what these services will look like, where they will be located, or how they will be staffed.
“This is an inaction plan that is a long way from delivering €200 a month childcare fees. While I welcome the €45 million in additional funding for wages, this increase will be minimal for educators. It is clear that the ERO approach is not working. That is why we need to look at paying educators in core funded services at the same level as primary school teachers.
“I am deeply concerned by the lack of clarity for providers regarding the new core funding caps. Providers have long called for these caps to be updated to reflect the increased costs facing services. This short term plan provides no detail and simply kicks the issue down the road to 2026, leaving many small and medium sized providers facing continued uncertainty.
“The only way forward is a publicly funded and publicly led model of early years education and school aged childcare. That means a plan that genuinely addresses affordability for families, increases capacity to give every child an equal start, and tackles the workforce challenges in a sector that must be valued and recognised as a core part of our education system.”