Rabbitte targets childcare costs

Childcare costs many families more than mortgage repayments, the Dáil was told yesterday in a row over funding.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte claimed the Government was proposing to partially discontinue "the little the Government is doing to address childcare provision" by putting dozens of childcare centres at risk.

The "commuting belt around this city can't source childcare facilities or where they can, the fees in some cases exceed mortgage payments", he said adding that childcare in Dublin and surrounding areas was €150 a child a week.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said childcare actually cost €800-€900 a month. Mr Ahern insisted, however, that the Government planned to extend centres and funds had been committed to create 33,000 childcare places. "There are no plans to close centres. We are endeavouring to extend them under the equal opportunities programme," and funding for this had risen to €499 million from €318 million.

Mr Rabbitte claimed that staffing grants were being reviewed at childcare centres funded by the equal opportunities programme. He said a statement was issued on behalf of the Minister for Justice, targeting services to be sustainable "through a fair and equitable structure".

This meant that with the exception of "gravely disadvantaged areas" the grants to community-based not-for-profit facilities "are going to be terminated and their sponsors moved towards charging economic fees".

He added that "many families on middle-incomes are paying as much and in some case more on childcare than they are in mortgage repayments".

Mr Ahern said the Government was responding by increasing childcare places through the national childcare strategy. "It is not the Government's position to reduce places or close places, but rather to create more places," he insisted.

The fairest approach with the best socioeconomic impact was to provide child benefit. The Government helped parents through "the provision of significantly increased child benefit, which supports all parents irrespective of income" and it had increased to €2 billion from €500 million.

Mr Rabbitte said: "I don't think the Taoiseach has any familiarity with the issue.[ By] falling back on an argument about child benefit, it shows you have no knowledge about the cost of childcare."

But Mr Ahern argued that childcare cost €800-€900 a month per child and that benefit had increased fourfold to assist people with children. "That is the purpose and I understand very well."

There were "still large difficulties for young families, especially those with mortgages, whether they are in the commuter belt or not" and the issue would be dealt with in the next round of negotiations with the social partners.