School buildings should be made available to provide after-school facilities for children, and the granting of planning permission for new residential or commercial developments should be contingent on provision being made for childcare facilities, according to the employers' body, IBEC.
These measures are part of a four-point plan to increase the supply of childcare places which the confederation is putting forward, amid concerns that Government proposals may fail to tackle the current childcare shortage.
Fine Gael warned yesterday that nothing short of an emergency measure was now needed to jump-start the childcare industry. The party believed a capitation system for childcare providers was required immediately. Capitation of £10 per child per week could stimulate the supply end of the childcare crisis, said Fine Gael spokeswoman on defence and the promotion of women Ms Frances Fitzgerald.
While 600,000 Irish women were currently in paid employment, the health boards' registration programme had to date identified just 44,686 childcare places, Ms Fitzgerald said.
The Government's inter-departmental taskforce on childcare is currently working on proposals, but IBEC's social policy assistant director, Ms Aileen O'Donoghue, fears that in the rush to be seen to be acting, the Government may make the wrong decisions.
IBEC fears the Government is considering increasing child benefit payments as a means of addressing the issue. "But this type of approach will merely fuel demand for a service that is simply not available," Ms O'Donoghue said. "If you stand back and look at the situation, demand is not the problem - demand for childcare facilities is overrun. The problem is on the supply side."
If the Government was serious about tackling the crisis it must devote resources towards increasing the supply of childcare places, IBEC warned.
The employers' group believes capital grants should be made available for the upgrading of premises to comply with childcare legislation. New guidelines should also be established for the granting of planning approval for childcare facilities.
Ms O'Donoghue said the childcare requirements of workers and residents should be factored in to the planning process. Designated space for childcare facilities should be a prerequisite before planning permission was granted for new residential or commercial areas, IBEC believes.
IBEC endorsed the European Commission's criticism of childcare facilities in Ireland. "The EU Commission's comments underpin IBEC's view that it is totally unacceptable that employees should be either prevented from joining or effectively forced out of the labour force because of a deficiency of childcare supply," the confederation said.