SINN FEIN’S NEW spokesperson for children hopes to publish a policy document on childcare in the coming weeks, The Journal has learned.

TD Claire Kerrane was named this week as Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for children, integration, equality and youth – mirroring Government Minister Roderic O’Gorman’s portfolio – in a reshuffling of some of the party’s spokesperson roles.

In an interview with The Journal, Kerrane has said that affordability and accessibility for parents, costs for providers, and staffing problems are all issues facing the childcare sector that must be addressed.

“We have to get those three things right in order to have a proper functioning accessible and affordable childcare system,” the TD said.

The Journal has previously reported on the stress and strain faced by parents trying to find childcare for their young children. 

Many parents find that local playschools and crèches are at full capacity with long waiting lists and that they have little chance of securing a place. Even when a place is available, the costs can be very high.

Childcare providers and early years educators have also described the challenges they face in providing childcare, including high operating costs and challenges accessing public supports.

Speaking to The Journal, Kerrane said she intends to meet with as many stakeholders in the sector as possible as a priority.

“I’m setting myself now a very short space of time to meet the stakeholders. I hope to publish policy in relation to childcare in the next few weeks.”

The TD said that she did not want to say what the solutions are until she meets with stakeholders but pointed to retention issues as well as access to childminders as areas that must be addressed.

“You have a cohort of parents that would have gone to the childminder but that’s maybe too expensive now. They can’t get the subsidy or assistance if they’re going to a childminder, so that’s moved some of them out to more formal childcare, which reduces capacity,” Kerrane said.

“Particularly for those of us in rural areas, childminders would be a big choice for parents, a lot of them would use childminders, but at the moment, they’re not able to access support with the cost of that. I think if we can bring more childminders in, that will increase capacity as well.”

On staffing retention, Kerrane said that “people are highly qualified” but end up leaving the profession and going into other roles because of issues with pay and conditions. “That’s been an issue for a few years now,” she said.

Integration 

Sinn Féin published a new policy paper on international protection this week in which it put forward its positions on a number of issues related to accommodation for international protection applicants.

The party is calling for audits of services in local areas where accommodation centres are due to be located, which would be done by using the Pobal HP Deprivation Index as well as CSO and Census data.

It wants to see an expansion of countries on the safe countries list, the introduction of “partially safe countries” and stricter enforcement of deportation orders.

“It is about supporting communities. It is about being very clear that racism of any shape or form is not acceptable, neither is violence or nastiness in communities,” Kerrane said.

“I’ve been raising the issue of integration since 2020, long before the war in Ukraine, so it’s an area I’m very familiar with. It’s an area where Government has failed and they’ve very obviously failed. An awful lot of communities have opened their arms and welcomed refugees and got nothing as regards additional support or resources,” she said, giving the example of her own home town of Ballaghaderreen in Co Roscommon, where a reception centre is located that helped in particular to orientate refugees from Syria.

“We have international responsibilities, we have to meet them. But there is a way in which you do that and it is about bringing communities with you. It’s about listening to them.”

She pushed back against criticisms levied that elements of the party’s policy could be considered as pandering to the far-right.

“If a deportation order is given, then there’s nothing racist or far right in saying the deportation order should be actually implemented. I would see that as a fairly basic measure in terms of our immigration system,” Kerrane said.

“Our immigration system still isn’t functioning in that you wait months and months and months for a decision. It’s not rocket science to have a system that you come in, you’re either allowed to remain, you work, you pay your taxes, you contribute, or you’re not supposed to be here and you’re deported.”

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has likewise previously rejected suggestions the party is moving towards the right on immigration.

On what countries could be considered partially safe, Kerrane said it was a matter for the Department of Justice in relation to how they designate countries and that it would be something Sinn Féin would look at further if they were in Government and had access to more resources for making such decisions.