Irish fathers are becoming "invisible" in family life because of increasing work pressures, ICTU president Senator Joe O'Toole warned yesterday.
Mr O'Toole made the comment at the launch of a North Western Health Board report, Fathers Matter, in Letterkenny.
"Fathers are becoming invisible in parenting," he said. "They need the time and the encouragement to play their part. More involvement by fathers would also mean a fairer sharing with mothers of responsibility for parenting. "The evidence suggests that for parenting initiatives it is usually the mothers, rather than the fathers, who show up," he added.
Mr O'Toole said Congress would place housing and childcare high on its agenda as part of its campaign for a new national agreement. The high cost of housing had led to a situation where young parents had to work longer hours to meet mortgage repayments, Mr O'Toole said.
Added to this, commuting times and crèche deadlines meant that by the time parents got home they were too exhausted to have a proper home life with their children.
He described the modern working life as "wearing, frenetic and debilitating, with little space for children," and said it was threatening the well-being of a "generation of citizens".
"Developers who are sitting on land banks should be penalised," he said, "and local authorities must include social and affordable housing in county development plans."
He argued for tax breaks, grants and infrastructures for accessible childcare.