NWCI welcomes Sinn Fein and Labour’s move to make high costs of childcare key issue for election

Published: Friday, January 22, 2016

In response to childcare proposals put forward by Sinn Fein today and the Labour party last week, the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) today welcomed their move to make tackling the high costs of childcare a central theme for the General Election campaign.

Orla O’Connor, Director of NWCI said,
“Making early years care and education is one of NWCI’s key demands in its Breakthrough Manifesto for Women. We welcome that Sinn Fein and Labour have committed to developing a Scandinavian style childcare model that would provide publicly subsidised, affordable, quality childcare to parents.”

She continued,
“We know from our members that voters are raising the childcare crisis as one of their key concerns at the doorsteps. Ireland continues to have one of the highest childcare costs in Europe and often represents the equivalent of a second mortgage for families. This is still one of the key barriers to women’s participation in the workforce and in public life.”

“We also welcome proposals to strengthen maternity leave and paid parental leave by Labour, Sinn Fein and the Social Democrats. This will be crucial to ensure that care work is shared more equally between women and men in Ireland.”

Orla O’Connor concluded,
“We now call on all political parties to follow suit and ensure that investment in early years education and care, including out of school hours care, is a key priority in their election manifestos and in the next Government.”

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For more information, please contact Silke Paasche, NWCI, Tel. 085 858 9104