Calls for childcare costs to be capped at €180 a week as parents struggle

THERE have been calls for childcare costs to be capped as hard-pressed parents are struggling to pay the equivalent of a ‘second mortgage’.

The National Women’s Council of Ireland has called for the introduction of a Scandinavian childcare model which would see costs here capped at €180 a week.

Parents pay between €800 and €1,000 per child a month in Ireland compared to childcare costs of €283 per month in municipal creches in Finland, according to the NWCI. The group has called on subsidies for childcare to be introduced in Budget 2016.

Orla O’Connor, director of NWCI, said: ‘Parents are really struggling to pay childcare – it is the equivalent of a second mortgage. And if people have more than one child the costs are so difficult to cover. One of the parents often have to work part-time or leave their job.’

Ms O’Connor said the State is spending between 0.2 and 0.4 per cent of GDP on subsidising childcare which is significantly below the EU average of 0.7 per cent and the UNICEF target of one per cent of GDP.

She said: ‘Every parent knows what these figures mean by now – for some parents, it means spending over 40 per cent of their income on childcare.

‘For others, mainly women, it means dropping out of the workforce. Finnish childcare costs €283 per month in municipal creches. The childcare costs are similar in France, Spain, Belgium and Germany, and quality standards are all higher than Ireland.’

Ms O’Connor has called on the Government to tackle the problem in the upcoming Budget. She said: ‘To end the current childcare crisis, we much see childcare fees capped for all parents.

‘Currently this would be €180 per week for a full-time childcare place based on ECCE subsidisation.’ She added: ‘For those who say we cannot afford to invest in a Scandinavian childcare model, we say we cannot afford not to.’