The issue of childcare has remained “steadfastly problematic” since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, a Dáil committee will be told on Tuesday.
Childcare providers and unions are due to appear before the Oireachtas committee on Covid-19 to address ongoing issues in the funding and capacity of the childcare sector.
Siptu official Paul Bell is expected to tell TDs that the “overwhelming” majority of contacts received by the union have been from working mothers who were “desperately trying to secure childcare so they could go to work as an essential healthcare worker”.
According to his opening statement he will say that by early May “many members’ annual leave for 2020 had dried up and the only option was to retreat from the health service through unpaid leave”.
“For our union, it is most concerning the preference was to lose an essential healthcare worker rather than consider flexible options and supports which would maintain their skillset while also ensuring they were supported to meet their family needs.”
He will say that the failure to set up a childcare scheme for essential workers “was a major setback to health care workers who were desperate for some relief and support. Equally, the gap to the next stage, 29th June, was a further seven weeks of uncertainty and no pay in many cases.”
“The issue of childcare has remained steadfastly problematic since the beginning of the lockdown.”
Secretary general of the Department of Children Fergal Lynch is also expected to tell the committee that the sector is in “uncharted waters”.
He will say that estimating likely demand for childcare services between June 29th and early September is a “significant challenge”.
“The planned reopening of businesses on June 29th occurs at a time when just 40 per cent of services would normally be open at this time of year, 1,800 out of 4,500 providers.
“Compared to pre-Covid, demand this autumn may be lower because of job losses among parents, or because of more flexible working that better allows families balance caring and working responsibilities.
“Overall we anticipate that demand for places will rise progressively over the summer and autumn but we are in uncharted waters this year, and we cannot be definitive about uptake.”
This will bring “challenges” to the type of funding model for the sector in the months ahead, according to his opening statement.
‘Information vacuum’
Paula Donohoe, a private provider, will also tell TDs that in the initial period after lockdown there ensued “an information vacuum that was filled with speculation, misinformation, media interpretation and generally unhelpful commentary which had the natural effect of raising already heightened stress levels.”
Chief executive of Early Childhood Ireland Teresa Heeney is expected to call on the Government to “ramp up” investment in the national childcare scene, saying that the answer to the crisis is “not direct payments to parents or tax-breaks to offset costs”.
Ms Heeney also says that the lack of clarity on the post-Covid funding model beyond August is causing anxiety to providers who are planning for reopening on June 29th with “no clarity on the financial model which will be in place after the summer”.
“This is also true of settings that will reopen for the first time in September. Central government needs urgently to engage with the sector and develop a plan on how funding needs will be met. It must be acknowledged, however, that our sector is extremely diverse, and problems cannot be resolved with a ‘one size fits all’ solution.”
In a written submission to the committee, Seas Suas, a representative group for independent childcare providers, says that “the response to this childcare crisis continues to be short-sighted, confusing and lacking in detail”.
