Back to work with granny in a creche

Demographics are a wonderful thing

Demographics are a wonderful thing. Here we are worrying about the lack of provision of childcare in the State and how it may worsen the labour shortage and the subsequent upward pressure on wages.

In Britain, they have much of the same problem - the presence of a large number of people unable to join or rejoin the workforce because they are looking after others.

Only in this case, the others are the elderly.

Now one enterprising business association chief has come up with a solution - "granny creches".

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Keith Moller, chief executive of Cadia, a business association in Sussex in the south of England with 800 members, envisages a "safe, caring environment for people, who can be there for the period of a working day, so that it releases people to work".

Maybe, but I still think it will be some time before the idea finds favour with the government, local authority and business interests he feels need to play a role.

Dominic Coyle can be contacted at dcoyle@irish-times.ie