Untangling childcare

`There is now a virtual crisis in childcare supply," according to a report on childcare which was launched last week. In fact, many service providers would feel there has been an actual crisis in childcare provision since the inception of the State.

"Childcare has never not been in crisis in Ireland," says Owen Keenan, chief executive with Barnardo's, "particularly in relation to State provision. The language of childcare has been commandeered for working parents and in much public debate tends to refer only to full-day care for working parents. "It has only begun to be acknowledged as being in crisis because of the way it has begun to impact on middle-class families. This says a lot about our readiness to ignore people in disadvantaged areas and people living in poverty." The report, National Childcare Strategy, was compiled by an expert working group under Partnership 2000, with representatives from various organisations with an interest in childcare. It outlines a strategy which integrates the different strands of current arrangements. It has been welcomed by the various organisations, but with some reservations. Maria Hegarty, who represents the European Anti-Poverty Network on the working group, says: "We would welcome it as an integrated package, but we would have concerns about how the recommendations to facilitate people in poverty will be implemented. As it stands, to access financial support they would have to interact with three different agencies, and might end up with as little as £10 towards their costs. "Accessing financial support through the social welfare department is currently such a complex process that people end up totally bewildered.

"Similarly, while we would welcome the recommendations to facilitate childminders with their services, we feel that should be done in a supportive environment. "All the recommendations are quite useful, but information is the key, otherwise the whole thing will be pointless. We have come up with a strategy - the challenge we now face is to ensure people understand how to access the various recommendations."

According to the report, childminding in a minder's home is the most common arrangement for children of women with paid jobs, and the second most common overall. Among the recommendations in the report is the need to adapt the current childcare regulations under the Child Care Act to include such childminders. The report recommends all those providing childcare services for one or more children, in addition to their own, should be required to register. The report also recommends a special tax allowance in respect of the earnings of childminders.

However, implementation of the regulations as they stand has already caused problems. According to Martina Murphy, press officer with the National Children's Nurseries Association, "Since the implementation the regulations under the Child Care Act, nursery owners have had to spend a lot of money adapting their premises and even employing more staff. While it is essential that high standards are developed and maintained, it means costs have had to go up, sometimes to more than £100 a week per child for full-day care, and the Government has expected parents to pay this cost. "The result has been nurseries forced to close - which at a time when the demand for full-day care is extremely high is a complete disaster. The Budget concessions this year were no help, so we would be concerned that this report is fully implemented. If it is only partially implemented, it will just be a mess. The balance between supply and demand has to be very sensitively handled. "There are issues surrounding the status of childcare workers which need to be addressed and higher wages are essential in that regard. So unless all the recommendations are put in place, from regulations to training to financial assistance for childminders, nursery owners and parents, the strategy just won't work."

An ongoing concern about childcare provision has been the lack of co-ordination of services. At the moment, childcare - defined in the report as services for pre-school children, and for school-going children out of school hours - comes under the responsibility of at least five different departments. The new strategy proposes that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform be designated as lead department with respect to the national strategy and setting up an inter-departmental policy committee on childcare.

Owen Keenan, however, is somewhat sceptical about this suggestion. "I would feel a certain amount of concern over what appears to be tensions between the various Government departments with regard to responsibility for children. On the one hand, we have the Department of Education reporting on early childhood education; at the same time we have the Department of Health developing a policy on children; and now we have a report on childcare. "I would be inclined to feel there is no vision with regard to children in Ireland, no real commitment to putting children centre stage. The issue of childcare services should be examined first and foremost from the perspective of children."

Hilary Kenny, director of services with the IPPA, is more positive. "We are generally very happy with the report and the way it was put together on a consensual basis. We are pleased with the recommendations which promote equality of access to children. I'm bored talking about research which shows the value of good quality early childhood services in the long run, but to date the Government has done nothing to support provision. We have parents on to us frantic every day looking for places for children."

Meanwhile, the National Parents Council (Primary) stresses that childcare is not exclusively an issue for parents who do paid work outside the home. "Parents who have no access to childcare are disempowered from participating in decision-making with regard to their children and the wider community," says Fionnuala Kilfeather, national co-ordinator of the NPC

. "It is extremely difficult to participate on, for example, a parents' association if you have small children at home with you.

"The recommendations in the report should be implemented with the needs of all parents in mind, so that some parents are not denied their democratic right to participate."