In many homes, the proposed childcare cap would free up as much as €800 or €1,000 a month
Politicians beware: Irish mothers’ brows are arched and our suspicions are raised. Over the last few weeks, the main parties have been doting on us with the rushed affection of a lazy partner snagging the last forlorn petrol station bouquet on Mother’s Day. At the time of writing, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour and Sinn Féin have all made the staggering promise to cut childcare fees to a life-changing €200 a month in exchange for our votes in the General Election.
The grand policy gestures had my mommy WhatsApp groups quite lively with wry jokes about going back on the folic acid. Because if it were true, and that is a titanic load-bearing ‘if’, the cut to our childcare costs has the potential to change everything from family planning to housing. How many children you can afford to have and how quickly, where you can afford to live and how much you can afford to save: all of these would change overnight if the next government were able to deliver on this promise that would see many houses have their costs cut by 75pc or more a month. It’s the election promise I’m struggling most to believe, because the risk of disappointment is so great.
