Sir, – I admire Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Dr Katherine Zappone’s resolve to advance public childcare provision in Ireland.
We have lagged persistently (coming almost last!) behind other European states in this area. Under EU pressure, the then-government introduced the Free Pre-School Year scheme in 2010.
This provides three-year-old children with 15 hours of free pre-school a week during the school term (38 weeks). There has been a 95 per cent take-up rate for this.
Dr Zappone rightly recognises that pre-school is not childcare. Sociological analysis of childcare provision identifies the need for childcare on two major grounds: quality childcare for children as an investment in their future education and wellbeing; and as an essential prerequisite for the equal participation of mothers in the labour force.
The low labour force participation of mothers has been explained in terms of the high costs of childcare for women in all income groups. It is not surprising that we have a shortage of female workers in areas such as nursing.
This lack of affordable childcare for lower-income earners was raised as a serious policy issue when Ireland under EU pressure had to introduce an “activation policy” for lone parents in 2015 and the eligibility for the means-tested lone-parent benefit was changed. As a result, lone mothers whose youngest child is seven years of age in 2016 are reclassified as “job seekers” rather than lone parents and are expected to participate in the labour market.
The Minister’s proposed policies – judging from media leaks – would begin to address the childcare deficit that Irish parents have endured for years. Yes, there is lots more to be done but we must begin somewhere, and her policy proposals are a good start. – Yours, etc,
EVELYN MAHON
Fellow Emerita,
School of Social Work
and Social Policy,
Trinity College Dublin,
Dublin 2.