Lack of childcare costs jobs, survey shows

Thirteen per cent of companies have lost staff in the last 12 months because the lack of affordable childcare in the State, a survey published today shows.

The Minister for State with responsibility for children Ms Mary Hanafin

The survey,

Labour Force 2001 - Childcare

, was conducted by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) and launched today by the Minister for State with responsibility for children Ms Mary Hanafin.

The survey also shows that 57 per cent of companies whose staff have children under 12 are concerned about childcare. Almost one third of all companies believe that the current lack of affordable childcare is impacting on their ability to recruit and retain staff.

"CCI does not believe that increasing child benefit will solve the problem", said Ms Jennifer Lee, Chairperson of CCI's Human Resource Council.

"The solution is to boost the supply of childcare places.

"Must we wait until today's children are parents before we have an adequate childcare infrastructure?", she added.