The failure to agree to a new system of childcare payments as part of the £1.5 billion package of social inclusion measures in the national agreement was criticised by the National Women's Council yesterday, ahead of today's talks which the Taoiseach will attend. The National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI), which sought universal payments of £20 a week for all children up to five years and £10 a week for six- to 14-year-olds, claimed failure to reach agreement was a result of the Government's lack of political direction on the issue.
Lack of agreement on what form childcare payments should take resulted in the childcare decision being deferred and the issue being left out of the proposed national agreement. Instead, the Government and the community and voluntary pillar of the social partners agreed to enter into further consultations, with a Government commitment to announce a framework to deal with childcare costs by the end of the year. This framework would be implemented over the lifetime of the agreement.
The NWCI said it was disappointed after three months of negotiations at the Government's failure to make a decision on the childcare issue. "The Government is not prepared to go with this measure unless everyone is willing to agree with it," the council's negotiator at the talks, Ms Orla O'Connor, said.