Today's Budget announcement might seem like a win for parents, but it will ultimately lead to a "boom" in already long childcare waiting lists.
That's according to the director of Childhood Services Ireland Darragh Whelan, who says that a serious supply issue means that parents won't be able to find a childcare place even if they can afford one. A national childcare scheme announced today is set to cost €121m.
Funding will support a 25% cut in weekly childcare fees. But Darragh worries that waiting lists of 24 months will become even longe, and that some childcare providers will have no choice but to increase parental fees in the coming months, creating a lose-lose situation.
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He said: "What we have heard is that priority will be given to the cost of childcare during the cost of living crisis. Parents are the big winners here which we absolutely welcome.
"The universal subsidies will increase from the current 50c per hour up to €1.40 per hour. Every parent will be entitled to the 90c jump in the hour.
"Overall €1.40 going towards childcare per hour is excellent. It will equate to a maximum of €63 per week.
"If you multiply that by 52 weeks, it's over €3,000. It's really, really good. It's going a long way in the cost of living crisis and tackling the main issue with childcare which is affordability.
"However, that's one piece in the puzzle. The other piece is about the accessibility of childcare. Now that childcare will be affordable to a greater array of families, unfortunately they are still going to have nowhere to spend the money.
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"The waiting lists for childcare are anywhere between 12 months and 24 months. There is a huge supply issue going on here."
Darragh said that nothing being done to stimulate labour activation will mean that some parents will have no choice but to leave their jobs.
He said: "If they can't find the childcare, they are just going to be left out in the dark. It's not going to do anything to stimulate labour activation.
"There are going to be lots of mothers out there and it's generally the mothers that make the unfavourable decision to remove themselves from the workplace to continue. Not because of the cost element because they'll be able to afford the childcare but because they won't be able to find the childcare.
"Childcare waiting lists will boom. They are up to 24 months and that's only going to get longer. What we are disappointed in is that nothing has been done to stimulate more childcare places within the country.
"It's a wasted opportunity. It won't make any difference to a childcare provider.
"We are in a fee freeze arrangement so we have voluntarily frozen our fees with the government since September 2021. Most other sectors will increase their prices as well as apply for the grants from the government to offset some of their cost increases.
"We can't do that. We can get the grant but it's only a small amount. We can't increase our prices to offset inflation.
"The Department have done nothing this year to offset the cost of inflation. Even though there is a win in the short-term for parents, in reality if childcare providers are struggling to make ends meet they will just increase the fees.
"What was gained today in the budget would be lost through increased parental fees. It's a lose overall."
Darragh said the childcare providers cannot even save money on heating costs as they are minding the most vulnerable people in our society.
He said: "The cost of living crisis has had a huge impact on childcare providers across the country. There is no rural and urban divide with this. It's affecting everybody. It's on two grounds. One is staffing and one is on non-staff overheads.
"It's impossible to find staff. We have a wage spiralling effect because the staff themselves are feeling inflationary pressures and their own heating bills at home.
"Then on the non-staff overheads side of things, we have to keep the rooms heated in winter. We have the youngest cohorts of our society, the most vulnerable in our society so you have no option but to keep the rooms heated particularly in the winter months.
"Then in summer, you have to keep them ventilated. A lot of people are operating from older buildings or they simply don't have the capital to invest in green initiatives to help improve their energy levels. There's nothing they can do to avoid those overheads they are going to have to keep absorbing them.
"They can't increase fees to increase the capital. They are stuck. They will have no option but to increase the parental fees which means overall today is a loss for parents."
Long waiting lists mean that parents have to try find a childcare place before they have even a conceived a child.
Darragh concluded: "They haven't done anything to stimulate the childcare places. Even though a parent might be able to afford a childcare place, there actually is nowhere to go.
"The waiting lists are 12 to 24 months long. They are going to stretch even longer than 24 months long. The message you are sending to parents there is that if you want to get childcare in Ireland then you need to consider it before you have even conceived the child."
We want to hear your views on the Budget. Are you happy with these additional payments and will they help you during the cost of living crisis? Or are you still worried about making ends meet this winter? Let us know in the comments below.
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