Budget must prioritise fully public-funded childcare – National Women’s Council
By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association
An additional €300 million is needed in the next budget to reduce childcare costs and improve accessibility for families, the National Women’s Council (NWC) has said.
The group said a fully publicly funded and delivered system of childcare must be a priority as it launched its pre-budget submissions on Tuesday.
The NWC represents almost 200 women’s organisations across the island of Ireland and outlined three key core areas it wants the Government to prioritise in the next budget, due in October.
They consist of additional investment in early childhood education, an expansion of the free contraception scheme and measures to tackle rising energy costs.
Addressing the launch, which was held online, executive director Corrinne Hasson said: “A fully public-funded and delivered system of childcare must be a priority, and the Government must outline clear timelines and plans to develop initial public provision in 2026.
“If we’re still waiting for Budget 2028 to see funding, a huge opportunity will have been missed.”
In its submission, the NWC said the country’s current childcare system is “not working” and “structural reform” is needed, adding: “A lack of accessible and affordable childcare is the single biggest barrier to women’s equal participation in political, social, economic and community life.”
The organisation said a scheme, announced in January, where the state will directly buy, build and refurbish childcare facilities, should be expanded and viewed as “the first step toward a truly public model of childcare”.
It called on the state to “begin the rollout of publicly-delivered” early childhood education and care, and to “take over responsibility” for educators’ wages.
Other core measures in the submission include a phased expansion of the free contraception scheme to include everyone of reproductive age, beginning with those aged 36 to 40 in 2027.
Under the current scheme, prescription and emergency contraception is available to people aged between 17 and 35.
The NWC says widening this would cost an additional seven million euro on top of the current cost of 48 million euro.
The organisation also said targeted energy credits for households and an increase to the fuel allowance are needed, and has asked the Government to look towards the tiered social tariff model used in Spain.
Other measures in the pre-budget submission include reforming family leave benefits, including the introduction of pay-related benefits.
It says Ireland is the only country in the EU that does not link family leave payments to income, instead paying a flat rate of 299 euro a week to new parents.
The council has also called for the approval and construction of new data centres to be paused until households and public services are protected from rising energy costs and grid pressures.
As the launch was being held, the Central Statistics Office released figures which show the percentage share of total consumption of Ireland’s metered electricity by data centres rose to 23 per cent last year from five per cent in 2015.
Addressing the event, Clare O’Connell, of Friends of the Earth, said Ireland’s reliance on data centres, and their increased consumption of energy, are increasing prices for households.
She said the people this impacts most are those experiencing structural vulnerability, adding: “Single-parent households are twice as likely to be in energy poverty and to be struggling to keep their homes warm, as other types of households.”
