Many Cork families facing 'crippling' childcare costs 

A Cork TD has said some families are now facing childcare costs higher than their mortgage repayments, with data showing the average weekly cost of childcare in Cork city comes in at almost €220.

The figures show that in Cork city the average weekly cost of childcare is €218.40, while in Cork County it is €202.00.

Data compiled by Pobal indicates that the average (median) weekly fee per child before subsidies is €190 for full-day early learning and care.

However, both Cork city and Cork county are above this average, with only Dublin and Wicklow being more expensive.

Unaffordable

Cork South-Central Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice said the figures, provided to Kildare Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly in the Dáil last week, were unaffordable for many families.

“The programme for government outlined a plan to reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month,” Mr Rice said.

“At the moment in Cork, parents are paying over this amount on a weekly basis. This is a clear indication that the Government is failing on its promises to parents.”

“These costs are crippling for families,” Mr Rice said.

“These are only the average figures. For some parents, their childcare costs are now greater than their mortgage repayments.”

Challenges

He said challenges facing the sector include low wages, huge turnover in staff, and difficulty recruiting.

“Childcare workers provide an essential service for communities, yet there has been no clarity on whether this Government will take action to establish pay parity for early years workers,” he said.

“It’s about time that parties across the political spectrum come together to agree on a vision for the future of childcare and early years services in this country. The Social Democrats have proposed a public model called Páistecare as the best way to address the challenges facing the sector.”

Subsidies

Children’s minister Norma Foley said the national childcare scheme provides subsidies to families to help reduce childcare and early learning costs. They include a universal subsidy of €2.14 per hour for a maximum of 45 weekly hours, which would see a family receive €96.30 off their weekly childcare fee.

The other is an income-assessed subsidy which — depending on factors such as family income, child age, and number of children in the family — could amount to €5.10 per hour.