Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE DEPARTMENT OF Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) has been inundated with complaints and queries about the introduction of a childcare subsidy last September, which saw many creches around the country raise their fees in tandem.
The new subsidy, which went live on 1 September last and is not means-tested, sees families with children aged between six months and three years in childcare receive a subsidy of €20 per week (€1,040 per year) per child in order to alleviate the high cost of early years care in Ireland.
Unfortunately, the nature of the scheme has seen both parents and creches alike almost of one voice in their criticism of the department.
Correspondence released to TheJournal.ie via Freedom of Information shows that worries that were in place many months in advance of the scheme’s launch proved to be well-founded as the subsidy officially kicked in.
Delays
The subsidy is part of what has come to be known as the Affordable Childcare Scheme (ACS) – a set of measures designed to provide some relief to hard-pushed parents. That scheme itself was beset by problems at inception, with issues surrounding the introduction of a new computer system seeing it dogged by delays.
Irish childcare lags behind most other EU nations, where such costs are largely subsidised by the state. By contrast, the cost of care for just one child in Ireland can easily amount to €12,000 per year, especially in eastern counties.
Two fundamental problems are repeatedly cited in the complaints – creches in regions across the country raised their fees at the same time the subsidy came in thus negating its impact (and in many cases, causing parents to be even further out of pocket), and a large amount of childcare providers refused to sign up to the scheme, citing an unworkable increase in administration and the lack of clarity around the scheme’s terms and conditions as the chief reasons, leaving parents howling in frustration.
One creche wrote directly to parents of the 100 children it provided care for explaining why it wouldn’t be signing up to the subsidy (which requires parents to register with their creche, who then lower their fees and process the application via DCYA):
“The main fear that many service providers are having is that through implementing all these schemes the government will control our business.”
Unless you are currently running an ‘affordable’ childcare service you would have no idea what the expenditures are.
We have no idea where the government has got their research but what we do know is that it has not got it from services like us.
Letters of complaint from parents about the raising of fees are ten-a-penny – with the levels of frustration expressed ranging in tone from quite muted to apoplectic.
“I am disappointed to report that our creche decided to increase the fees from September and we will in fact be even worse off than we were,” one woman wrote to the department’s minister Katherine Zappone in late August.
Many parents forwarded on the notification of raised fees they had received directly to Zappone.
‘Nothing but an insult’
“This strikes me as nothing but robbing Peter to pay Paul and opportunistic to say the least,” said one disgruntled parent.
It has left me very angry and is nothing but an insult to parents.
“I am sure I am not the only parent who is absolutely disgusted and shocked, but not surprised, that once again the attempts of our government to improve some matters by bringing a grant in have ended up in the wrong hands,” wrote another.
“It was inevitable this was going to happen. We are disgusted. We struggle each month to pay these enormous childcare costs and just can’t believe the first bit of help has been taken away from us,” said yet another parent, from Swords in north Dublin.
Citing a report from August which suggested Zappone was ‘monitoring’ the fees situation, a parent complained that “with respect, the time for monitoring has passed and the time for action is now”.
The evidence is overwhelming. What will be the action and when?
Reports of creches raising their fees are not confined to any one area – they were delivered to the department from every corner of the country, from the south-west to Mayo, the midlands to Wicklow and Wexford (in September, DCYA told TheJournal.ie that it believed the number of creches that were planning to raise their fees was in the region of 5%).
This has not been lost on the country’s political operatives – and the majority of those registering their concern were government TDs (and indeed ministers).
Worried politicians
Fine Gael’s Bernard Durkan (Kildare), Patrick O’Donovan (Tipperary, a junior minister), Richard Bruton (Dublin North, Minister for Education) and Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Minister for Defence) all lodged expressions of concern with Zappone, as did the Independent Alliance’s Shane Ross (south Dublin, Minister for Transport) and Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran (Westmeath, and also a junior minister).
Many others referred complaints from constituents directly to the Department of Children – including Fianna Fáil’s Darragh O’Brien (Dublin Fingal) and Willie O’Dea (Limerick), former Fine Gael Minister Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West), and Labour’s Joan Burton (Dublin West).
Some parents complaining make it clear they believe the department has the best intentions in trying to provide some aid to struggling families, but say that nevertheless no positive impact is being made. “I truly believe that you and this government are doing your best to help,” wrote one parent. “To my grave disappointment, our creche has decided that come September they are raising their fees by 8%. So instead of being 80 euro a month better off, our family is now 140 per month MORE stretched.”
I thank you for your time and effort in trying to ease the burden, but I think in this case it has failed.
Still more complaints come from families either with no creches available who will sign up for the scheme (which is available to child and family agency Tusla-registered businesses only – Bray in Co Wicklow is cited as an area affected in this manner), and those who use childminders (who are not eligible), and from childminders themselves. Other families state that they are being penalised by across-the-board hikes in fees when they cannot avail of the subsidy because their children in creche are more than three years old.
“Did your department investigate fully how many childcare providers are actually registered with Tusla? Very few I would imagine,” wrote one parent.
“I’m fully registered with Tusla but I might as well not be as it is adding no benefit to my business,” a childminder meanwhile wrote in late June.
I’ve worked tirelessly over the last seven years to build my business working 60 hours a week only for the government to brush me to one side.
Both creches and parents petitioned the department to allow them to register for the scheme directly in order to cut out the middle man, as is the case for free GP care for the under-sixes for example.
“Minister, you would be better off spending your time in discussions with the prime stakeholders of this scheme, the early years providers, instead of having photo shoots of choochoos and interfacing with the innocents in all of this,” one disgruntled provider wrote in May.
Another parent simply states that the scheme is not fit for purpose, stating they “thought it was a joke” when the terms were first revealed.
“€80 a month for childcare costs when one child costs €1,000 is not going to make much difference,” they wrote in late May. “I am actually shocked that such a poorly thought out and weak proposal has been put forward. A tax break that can be applied for at year-end would be of more assistance than this laughable proposal.”
But yet another parent gave a rare dissenting voice: “I would ask you not to scrap this new subsidy.”
I suspect that as little as the saving is, it will be of benefit to the vast majority with children in creche.
“It’s not much but it’s better than nothing!”
If we held candle light vigils for all that were unfortunate to die in hospitals because of inadequate or unprofessional procedures they would be occurring day and daily. This case has been hijacked for political purposes.
Or you could be less cynical about it and see that it was a heart wrenching story that people took personally. A beautiful, intelligent young woman was denied life saving treatment because of our backwards society while her brave husband showed tremendous strength and passion after her death. It’s a story worth hearing.
There are hundreds of stories worth hearing .. sadly none are afforded the vast amount of air time or column space that this one is.
true Liam,
what happened was a tragedy,
– but they way it was shamelessly & cynically exploited by the ‘Irish Times’ & Co. was terrible.
I used to occasionally buy the ‘Irish Times’ but never again.
Many families all over the country have lost a loved one due to medical misdiagnosis or mismanagement.
But their deaths were not cynically exploited to promote a political agenda.
@Zoe @Liam there may be “hundreds of stories worth hearing” but space and time doesn’t allow all stories to be told.
That’s why some stories are more important, because they were heard by many, created debate, touched people.
Savita’s story is one of those.
Savita’s family want justice, they are not happy with the reports so far, they have called again for people to be held accountable, they are making sure she is not forgotten.
What justice are they looking for?
@Liam I totally agree with you!
How can an Indian family hope to ever get justice in a country that turns a blind eye to child abusing Roman Catholics?
It is a political matter, Liam, as politicians have had to decide how to amend the Constitution in line with the directive from tthe EU and the referendum vote in favour of a suicide clause. I just wish the legislation had been widened to include Fatal Foetal Abnormalities and risk not just to a woman’s life but also her health.
@ Silver Fern, yes some stories are more important. And they come to represent more than the individual involved either because others suffered in similar circumstances or because change occurred on the back of the story.
It would be great if every individual’s story could be heard but unfortunately they can’t.
The difference is This woman probably died because she was left there pregnant carrying a baby that the medics knew was no longer viable with life but had the potential to cause sepsis in its mother which it did. Sepsis always carries the risks of death . Action is a massive factor in the outcome . Staffing levels have to be looked at as well as one person can not do two jobs or even three people’s !
I apologise in advance if this sounds cold but is any one else fed up of hearing about this story.
Well considering a young woman died and her death was preventable, until such a time that there are measures put in place to ensure that this doesnt happen again, it is important to keep this story in the public’s mind.
Fox Trot, you are not only cold hearted but gratuitously unpleasant. You could simply have ignored this article and avoided posting a comment but instead yiu selected an article about a woman whose tragedy has upset many in this country, to do this. It is just that yiu lack empathy and a sense of recognition of the significance of this tragedy.
In time to come, you may recognise what this sadness is about. If not, that will will be a shame.
Please allow people the dignity and respect of this sad occasion. Thank you.
Fox trot why don’t u just ignore every Savita article seen as your so sick of it all? And why don’t you just use your real name?
Why do you want to know his or her name? What do you benefit by it? Other than a means to track him / her down over Facebook?
Think its time that this country started putting its people first. This was a life that could of been saved. May she rest in peace
Can’t believe its been a year since this happened, that man should be spending Christmas with his wife and child soon. But because of the backwardness and ineptitude of this country he can’t do that.
Rules on the immediate treatment of Sepsis have been brought in. Unfortunately No help for Savita
The backwardness and ineptitude of the HSE more like.
Given that Praveen Halappanavar is Hindu he should be celebrating Diwail, on the 3rd of November, the celebration of the Hindu new year and the Goddess Lakshmi, with his wife.
@tom… They can have all the rules and guidelines in the world, but if they don’t pick it up, it won’t make any difference. This woman didn’t have her basic obs checked until it was already too late.
Hindus don’t do Christmas.
How many people attended………
@margaret… Thanks to commercialism, their kids do.
It took this woman from another country to bring about some change which in my view doesn’t go far enough. We should be ashamed of that fact. Thanks to this ladies husband this was brought to the public’s attention. I fear if this was a Catholic Irish woman we would not have heard a thing.
And ironically enough, back in India, her hospital care would allegedly be far inferior to what she should’ve expected to get here.
I’m pro choice but i’m a little uncomfortable that a woman’s unfortunate experience is being used like some kind of marketing material. Before the whatabouttery starts, It’s not as bad as the disgusting stuff the anti-abortionists come out with, but there’s still something a little opportunist about it that makes me cringe.
Exactly… they turned her death in to a political football.
Easily avoided deaths like the one of Savita are always due to a political choice, in this case, the political choice of not angering the pro-foetus people in Ireland by not legislating on something that should have been legislated about decades ago.
Savita died because a number of political choices.
Have to agree. This lovely woman got lost somewhere in the middle of all the lobbying.
RIP and peace to her family and friends, a year already oh my!
It is a fine and good thing to pat tribute to Savita’s short life and to remember her. The organisers are to be commended for this.
I agree I was pregnant when savita died and it made my pregnancy very worrying … Rip … X
when somebody dies your immediate thought is your own and your babies well being?
No my point was that people’s confidence in our health and in particular maternity services are placed under question … I was so saddened to hear about this ladies death but also I was in the same position as her pregnant and at the hands of the same people who had failed her !!!… My heart goes out to her husband , family and friends … Rip x
Of course you would be worried Denise, any woman would.
Her death was completely preventable. I don’t agree or disagree with abortion but I don’t think the church should have any say in the matter. Had this not been a ”catholic country” as she was told by the people who were treating her she would still be alive. Screw your Catholic country shit and save her life. Doctors should act how they see fit not how the church sees fit. RIP Savita. Her tragic story makes me sick to the stomach!!!
Really Tara? The doctors missed the sepsis not the priest… but dont let the facts get in the way of a good rant…
what happened Savita had nothing to do with being a ‘catholic country’ – despite this being reported in media headlines, all over the world.
Subsequent medical investigations, brought to light the misdiagnosis, of the severity of Savita’s condition. She was not properly monitored, & there were several warning signs on her medical chart, that were not followed up on properly.
the Irish Times only highlighted the ‘catholic country’ bit, because it suited THEIR agenda – but they played down the rest of the relevant facts, of this tragic case.
A dying foetus given precidence over a dying woman because removal of a dying foetus from a dying woman is against a “pro-life” law. Savita wasn’t the first and unfortunately, due to anti-woman laws, I doubt she’ll be the last.
Tara well said totally agree. Zoe you’re a broken record.
I’m sure if they had terminated the first time she asked they would have found the sepsis in its earlier stages and been able to treat accordingly and much quicker therefore its much more likely that he would be still here today!!
If she died from some other ailment, and not from complications resulting from a miscarriage, no one would know her name. Its just an unfortunate case where pro life and pro abortion jumped on the band wagon. We. Are a nation of hypocrites where few feel for her family. Just find a cause, and no real empathy
@ Peter, if you only knew.
Sad.
One thing I noticed is that the UK media suddenly stopped reporting the Savita story when the results of the inquiries were published yet they were all over the initial spin.
agree,
the media have been crucial in this story.
What an embarsesment to Ireland.If there is a God there,may she rest in peace.
The use of soya products in India culture particularly for vegans seems to be a missing factor in this tragic story. COL (Retired) Don M. Huber, a former Emeritus Professor at Purdue University sent a letter to the USDA warning of a new pathogen, unknown to science, “…that appears to significantly impact the health of plants, animals, and probably human beings. Huber’s letter was made available to Tom Vilsack well before the USDA’s recent decision to deregulate GE alfalfa, meaning that the USDA deregulated GE alfalfa even after being made aware of this severe threat to human and animal health. Read it here:
http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/gmo-ties-animal-disease This wheatalge is still on the Irish market and is being used by farmers despite countries like France banning it from its markets.
have your say