Election 2024: Childcare is now a hot election topic, but problems have existed for years
Two Childcare Family Expect €1,000 In Of A Still Excess Pay To Children Can A With Month For
Almost out of nowhere, childcare has become a hot topic issue in Ireland ahead of next Friday's general election.
For parents and seasoned observers of the sector, the speed with which prominence has been given to this particular social problem has been headspinning.
Because childcare has been an enormous problem in Ireland for more than two decades.
The broad reason for that is fairly simple.
As the demographics of Ireland’s working community changed from the mid-90s, with the majority of women no longer staying at home to raise their family, a need for comprehensive childcare for working families was created — and then completely ignored.
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Instead, the survival of childcare businesses was left at the mercy of market forces by the State. That led to a situation where, by the time the Celtic Tiger reached its demise, the cost of placing children in private care was the equivalent of a second mortgage for many.
Despite this, the sector is and was notoriously poorly paid, and even still businesses struggled to survive, meaning it is an issue that does not work for anyone, providers and parents alike.
In recent years, the tide has started to turn somewhat. With the introduction of the National Childcare Scheme in 2019, parents became eligible for subsidised care.
Over the past three years, record investment in the sector has seen the fees paid by parents cut dramatically, with subsidies paid per hour per child increasing to €2.14.
Regardless, a family with two children can still expect to pay in excess of €1,000 a month for childcare. The fact this is a fraction of how bad fees used to be is perhaps irrelevant.
Why the rush to elevate childcare to the level of key election issue? It could be a combination of factors.
The most popular Government party, Fine Gael, has not held the portfolio since 2016, which perhaps helps to refocus on an issue its representatives can attack aggressively, other than say health or housing, topics for which they would be more on the defensive after 14 years in power.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin, the main opposition party, clearly sees childcare as a social weakness to be attacked.
Whatever the reasons, it was Fine Gael which fired the starting pistol on election season by promising to introduce a fully public early learning and childcare model in early September.
Next out of the blocks was Sinn Féin the following day, September 12, which pledged to introduce a model of subsidised childcare which would see costs capped at €200 per month, a promise since echoed by Fianna Fail.
Childcare is now a battleground, but there are worrying aspects to these various pledges. Most seem far more keen on reducing the fees parents pay than in shoring up the viability of the businesses, and the jobs they offer. As this writer has pointed out before more than once — cheap childcare is pointless if there are no businesses locally to deliver it.
The pledges are not mere electioneering though — €200 a month childcare is indeed possible. We know that because it has been achieved elsewhere in the EU — in Sweden, which — in the opinion of people working for Ireland’s early childhood bodies — has the best system for childcare anywhere in Europe.
Last month the travelled to Stockholm to gauge its childcare system and how it compares with its Irish counterpart via the stories of those living there.
A well-run and very beautiful city, Stockholm’s infrastructure is particularly exceptional. While Arlanda airport is further from the city than Dublin’s, the first-rate rail link will have travellers complete the journey in just 30 minutes.
Public transport (though not taxis) is exceptional and affordable — there is a first-rate ultra-clean metro system, and the city is a walker’s dream.
That does not mean everything there is perfect. Such a high-standard of public services is achieved by relatively high taxes (though many of them can be claimed back from the State), while many things Irish people would consider social essentials — driving and eating out for example — are seen as relative frivolities, and are heavily taxed accordingly. Cheap, Stockholm is not.
But public healthcare? It’s free and efficient. And in terms of raising children, Sweden is a dream.
For starters, there are 480 days parental leave allocated between parents for each child, mostly at full salary, which is paid by the government, and can be taken up to a child turning four. It can be extended up to the age of 12.
Mothers and fathers do not have to worry about companies opting in to that system — it is mandatory for them.
Childcare fees in Sweden are priced the same across the board, and then means-tested by household income to calculate subsidies. Paying less than €200 per month per child aged older than 12 months is not uncommon for care (it is even less in the key social development years between three and six), while a place in a service is guaranteed in the parents’ municipality.
Separately, there’s a system known as VAB, which sees a maximum 180 days a year paid at a percentage of salary (between 70% and 80%) allocated to parents caring for a sick child. It is a system that is taken very seriously.
Would these measures work in an Irish context? Perhaps. One thing is certain, if any party could viably commit to achieving them, it would be worth a lot of votes from parents.