Ireland's child care costs are the highest in the world – "like a second mortgage"

Ireland now has the highest cost of childcare in the world, with an average of more than € 700 per month. Like a second mortgage, the Dáil has heard about it.

Pearse Doherty, Sinn Féin's finance spokeswoman, said the costs were up by $ 15 a week, but qualified educators were leaving the sector because they could not make a living.

He said it was urgent to set up a wage agreement in the childcare sector to ensure fair treatment of workers and maintain quality care.

"For some families, it makes more sense that one of the parents withdraws from the labor market," because of the costs badociated with child care.

It was unfair and he said that in fact, it meant that they were women who were forced out of the job market.

Doherty added that the child care sector was in crisis and many skilled workers were forced to look for work elsewhere because they could not earn a living. He said it was urgent to enter into a wage agreement with the early childhood sector to ensure fairness for workers and continuity of quality care.

Children benefiting from quality care benefit socially and academically, and an appropriate system also benefits the whole society, he insisted.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney said the state has invested heavily in child care in recent years and has had poor results in the past.

Mr. Coveney said child care funding has gone from 265 million euros to 574 million euros in the last four budgets and that 200,000 children now enjoy childcare services. subsidized. He conceded that more needs to be done, but he said the government is moving in that direction and there are other plans underway to develop the sector.

Child care costs increased for the second year in a row, according to a new report, the average price of full-day child care increased by 2.2% or nearly 4 euros a week, according to the largest ever survey on first year services.

The 2017/2018 Early Years Sector Profile Report covers the first year since all families are eligible for a state grant when they use full-time licensed child care for children. until the age of six.

The study shows a significant variation in the extent to which the new universal payment, up to 20 euros per week for children under three, has been offset by higher fees.

A breakdown by county shows that in Cork City and County Donegal, full-time employment costs increased by € 15 per week. However, in some counties, average costs fell, with Co Kildare recording the largest weekly decline of nearly € 7.

Nationally, the average fee for a full-day child care place has increased from $ 4 to $ 178 per week. But in the most expensive region of the country, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, in Dublin, the fees can reach 308 euros per week for a child.