CHILDREN’S MINISTER RODERIC O’Gorman will be “pushing hard” for a significant reduction in childcare costs in a budget meeting with Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe tomorrow.
Further cuts in childcare costs will be delivered in the budget next week, but it’s expected the minister will not be able to deliver on his commitment to halve childcare fees over two budgets.
While the minister is set to make the case to see another 25% cut in the cost of childcare in the upcoming budget, to what extent there will be a reduction is yet to decided upon.
Fees were cut by 25% last year, reducing costs by up to €175 a month. It had been widely expected that the October budget would deliver a further 25% reduction.
However, during the summer uncertainty surfaced within government over whether such a reduction could be achieved.
A senior government source told The Journal, that similar to the Department of Health, the Department of Children has overrun its budget and required a supplementary estimate.
“They need a lot just to stand still never mind anything else,” said the source. Cuts to fees will form part of this budget, but they said there is a question mark over the level of cuts that can be achieved.
Another source said that the minister is pushing hard to get as close to the 25% reduction as is possible, but they said “it’s tricky’ as there is not as much money available as last year.
While fee reductions is a key focus, this source said there is also a need to expand access to those who use child minders and don’t get any help as well as children with disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
They said O’Gorman did really well to get that 25% cut last year, but added that he’s fighting to get as much of a reduction as he can again this year.
Responding to Sinn Féin’s motion on childcare costs in the Dáil this evening, the minister tabled a counter motion, stating that government investment in early learning and childcare has increased by 60% in the last two years, an increase of €400 million.
The minister said he has doubled the number of families getting childcare subsidies from 87,000 to 150,000 in the last year alone and backed a first-ever pay deal for early years educators, meaning a pay increase for 73% of those working in the sector.
He said he wanted to continue with the investment, reform and expansion of childcare services.
I cannot change the decades of disinterest and underinvestment in childcare that came before my time in this office, but this Government has placed a focus on childcare like no other.
“By every metric, we are on the right track when it comes to childcare. Do we still have further to go? Absolutely. Childcare is still too expensive, and too difficult to access in some parts of the country. That is why we are committed to doing more by increasing investment and expanding capacity,” said the minister.
O’Gorman also addressed the issue of childcare businesses closing down, stating that the level of paperwork and administration can be a burden.
He said there needs to be oversight of where government money is going, but he does want to see childcare
professionals spending their time doing what they do best – supporting children.
“That is why we will do a full review of administration in consultation with the sector, with a view to reduce the level of paperwork. We will bring in an Action Plan, setting out the measures we will take to lessen the burden on services.
“I know that workforce recruitment and retention remains a challenge, and that is why we establishing a new group to work specifically on recruitment and retention issues, including looking at apprenticeships and employment permits. All of this will take time, but will strengthen the sector,” added the minister.
His comments come after the minister said that a planned three-day strike by childcare providers last week was not “warranted”.
Opposition members such as Labour’s Sean Sherlock said it was clear that that minister was ”using his elbows in the negotiations” to get the biggest reduction he can, while Sinn Féin’s Dessie Ellis said childcare can cost as much as another mortgage for parents, stating that it is essential to make it more affordable.
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