Labour proposes childcare subsidy

14th January 2016

The Labour Party is promising to cut the cost of childcare to €2 per hour if returned to government at the next election. The policy offers nothing to stay-at-home parents.

According to The Irish Independent, the party’s undertaking would see a cap of €4.25 per hour (the current national average) for childcare, with the Government providing 50c per child. Labour envisages the plan would see parents paying €80 a week or about €320 a month for one child. Parents would be entitled to access State-subsidised care for children from the age of nine months to 12 years, for 40 hours per week.

The scheme also aims to increase the number of creches and in-home childminders.

Announcing the party plan, Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan insisted the proposal would see “incredible savings” for parents, adding: “The State has never invested in childcare and, as the economy recovers, it is time to change that for once and for all”.

Aiming to target working families like all parties facing into the General Election, Labour’s promise aims to add to the free pre-school scheme, currently available for three hours a day for a 38-week year for three-year-olds, a scheme which is being extended to a second free year as of September 2016. This will see a near doubling of the 60-70,000 three-year-olds currently eligible for the scheme.

The proposed new scheme on childcare costs would be phased in up to 2021 under Labour, with the party estimating that the cost to the Exchequer when fully implemented would be €500m a year.
The Iona Institute
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