The National Women’s Council is demanding “affordable, quality childcare for parents” in the 2023 Budget along with an increase in all social welfare payments
The NWC is also calling for at least a €20 hike on all welfare payments in next month’s Budget to help people with the rise of inflation.
According to the Irish Independent, the group is asking for a universal public childcare model that will guarantee “affordable, quality childcare for parents” along with higher pay and better working conditions for early years teachers.
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They are asking that the investment in childcare should begin with the minimum of €250m in the next Budget with the aim of supporting low-income families.
Sandra McCullagh, the council’s women’s economic equality coordinator, said: “Lack of childcare remains the single biggest barrier to women’s equal participation in employment and public life. There is virtually no public childcare, which is particularly affecting women in marginalised communities.”
Meanwhile, the NWC’s Head of Policy Jennifer McCarthy Flynn said inflation has the heaviest impact on those who have the least and that women, in particular, are being hit hardest.
She told Newstalk: “I think we know that the cost-of-living crisis is impacting all of us but the evidence from the CSO is also really clear. It is impacting deepest on those who already have the least.
“In general, women do have fewer resources, less wealth and lower incomes and, because of their greater unpaid care responsibilities, they have less choices around paid work and greater reliance on part-time, low-paid and precarious work.”
94 percent of all lone-parent households in Ireland are headed by women and they are the people most impacted by inflation, according to Jennifer.
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She said: “Those would be lone parents who are less likely to own a home and less likely to be able to access credit. They have less resources to turn to as the cost-of-living increases but wages and other income supports do not.”
“Those who have less resources available to them to deal with these cost-of-living increases are the ones being most impacted and women are overrepresented in all of those groups; those who are already most at risk.”
She also highlighted the importance of a €20 increase in social welfare payments.
“What we are looking for in this budget is a core minimum increase of €20 to keep up with inflation and ensure progress towards an adequate income,” she added.
“The benchmarking has to be to a minimum essential standard of living which is a calculation of what households and families need in order to have a set standard of living.
“So, benchmarking that, which is the cost of rent, or energy and food, is a much better way of keeping ahead of inflation than just benchmarking salaries, although those increases would be very welcome.
“They are probably not going to be enough to keep us ahead of the cost of inflation. Salaries are just not increasing in line with inflation.”
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