Home -> Parent Info -> Childcare in the News Free childcare could cost us in the long term A major leap forward for Irish children, or a yellowpack system being rushed in without sufficient planning or consultation? The 'free pre-school year' for children has been the subject of heated debate since it was announced in last April's Emergency Budget. It was a bold stroke by the cash-strapped Government, which aimed to replace a generous universal payment for parents of small children with a cheaper but more targeted measure. The new scheme both subsidises childcare costs and addresses a serious deficit in early childhood education. The annual cost to the Exchequer will be €170m, just a third of the €480m that was spent on the Early Childcare Supplement last year, while the Government will also get more bang for less buck by gaining international acclaim for its new commitment to our youngest pupils. For years, Ireland had languished near the bottom of the OECD league in providing preschool education to toddlers. Many parents were delighted at the move, which promised to defray high childcare costs and increase the availability and choice of preschool places -- even when it turned out the 'free year' will be as little as two hours and 15 minutes per day. It's rare for any major new educational scheme to be rushed into being within a few months of being announced, but the Office of the Minister for Children has ploughed ahead, and the scheme is on target to open in January. Around 4,000 playschools, creches and other daycare facilities applied to join the scheme -- but critics are now pointing to the hundreds of childcare facilities that have stayed outside the fold, despite the carrot of guaranteed government cashflow. Payment One in six eligible premises has chosen not to sign up, although the minister, Barry Andrews, has now given them extra time and announced a higher rate of payment for those with highly qualified staff. The biggest criticism is funding, with many established centres claiming the one-size-fits-all payment, and the refusal to allow parental top-ups, means they will have to subsidise the costs or reduce standards to provide the service at this price. The standard rate is €64.50 per week for those operating a 38-week year, or €48.50 for year-round 50-week services, in both cases amounting to about €4.30 per hour per child. However, that is less than what parents are paying at the moment for this type of service -- an official Central Statistics Office report published last week revealed that parents were paying an average of €4.80 per hour for creche/montessori type childcare for preschool children. And in Dublin it's even higher, as hourly rates in the capital are €5.90 per hour-- 50pc more than in most rural counties. It could be argued that the higher take-up and guaranteed flow of small customers will compensate for the lower rates. However, lobby groups such as the National Children's Nurseries Association argue that the scheme needs to be re-thought -- and replaced with a voucher system. That would allow parents to choose a facility and then decide for themselves if they want to pay top-up charges to get a better service. But Andrews has given a very firm 'No' to this -- citing it as a fundamental principle of the scheme that it is free, and equally available to all children. His department is also concerned that allowing parental top-ups would give pre-school facilities a free hand to up fees and create a two-tier system that would exclude some children and burden parents further. Given the demand from parents, it's unlikely the dissenters will be able to stay outside the State system, but only time will tell if their claim that the rushed scheme will give rise to "yellowpack" pre-schools will come true. Source: Irish Independent Get Listed on MyChildcare.ie today for as little as €99 for a full page advert for a whole year! Sign Up Here
Childcare in the News - 10th August 2009