Lack of childcare is finally seen as hindrance to economy

For an economy which is doing so well, it is surprising that a basic element of our economic success has been so badly handled. The failure to address the need for good-quality, affordable childcare is finally being seen as a potential hindrance to continued economic success.

We need parents in the workforce, and parents need childcare.

As a working parent I am only too aware of the nation-wide crisis in childcare. Despite growing demand, the market is not supplying enough quality affordable childcare places. Parents, minders, creche owners and employers are all crying out for a solution.

Unfortunately, the Report of the Expert Working Group is like a Late Late programme - there is something for everyone in the audience, but as a solution to the crisis it falls far short of what is needed and desirable.

The recommendations on tax relief for childcare expenses and a special tax allowance for minders will be welcomed by many working parents, and in particular the recommendation that the relief be at the standard rate and available to single-parent families makes it more equitable.

But as a policy instrument, tax relief is of limited value in that it is not the best way to ensure the provision of affordable, good-quality child care. Nor is it a useful weapon in tackling poverty, especially child poverty. From a policy point of view, this must be our first priority.

I am a member of the Sub-Committee on Women's Rights currently examining the issue of the provision of childcare, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear an economist, of all people, state that the case for State investment in the provision of high-quality pre-school childcare was unanswerable.

The Economics of Childcare in Ireland, prepared by Goodbody economic consultants for the Expert Group on Childcare, found that in the US every $1 invested in quality childcare gave a return of $7 in reduced crime, more and better educated workers, happier parents and stronger communities.

I am disappointed, then, that the Expert Working Group has not recommended we take immediate advantage of our current economic prosperity to invest in the establishment of a system of high-quality childcare accessible to all, but particularly to the less well off, which in the process would tackle poverty, especially child poverty, and offer much-needed support and help to all families, but particularly to families in difficulty.

The investment would have to be considerable. But as the US statistics show, it would come back to us in spades. Now is not the time for a short-term solution.

We have the second-highest rate of child poverty in Europe, and we have a duty to tackle it. We now have an opportunity.

But it is only now that the Celtic Tiger is roaring for more recruits that we have seriously turned our attention to the childcare crisis.

And this is not even to mention the issue of the welfare of children, the position of thousands of minders not covered by employment protection, or the problem of low pay in the childcare sector.

The Report of the Expert Working Group has come up with a complex solution, but not an effective one. Its proposals for tax relief are likely to be the ones best remembered by working parents, since it could put up to £20 in their pockets.

But it is of little use to the family where one parent decides to stay at home, unpaid, to care for the children. Or to the unemployed family who could not afford childcare, even if it was available, but for whom the availability of good-quality child care would be of huge benefit and great value for themselves individually and their community.

The report has not recommended any increase in child benefit to meet some of the difficulties faced by those who need childcare but who cannot afford it, and this is both disappointing and surprising.

The use of child benefit to deal with child poverty in particular has been identified as highly effective in targeting income at poor families and was used by the previous government in this way.

In the context of childcare provision, increased child benefit would be one way of recognising the contribution of the parent who stays at home to mind the children.

Those parents are likely to be disappointed by the approach in this report.

The report is solidly based on the need to get more women into the workforce. IBEC, in a statement on the issue some months ago, said if 20 per cent of mothers engaged in "home duties" were in the workforce, it would create an additional pool of 50,000 workers.

Many of those mothers would consider they are engaged in unpaid childcare.

The report is comprehensive and is to be welcomed as a valuable contribution to the debate on the issue. But let's have a debate not just about the cost of creches, but the cost to the community if we lose what could be a unique opportunity.

Finally, who will implement this report? It was accepted by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the same Department which has failed to spend its full childcare budget this year, but it has implications for a number of Departments, in particular Finance.

Let us hope this policy area gets the full attention it now deserves.

Senator Kathleen O'Meara is a member of the sub-committee on women's rights reporting on the child care issue, as well as the Parliamentary Labour Party's co-ordinator on childcare policy.