The party said that if in government, they would begin introducing a public model of early childhood education and care, which would include a voluntary programme for current childcare providers to
Speaking at the launch of the party’s childcare and early years education policy, party spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore said the €250 cap would be introduced immediately at a cost €250 million.
“It’s essentially making the system that’s there at the moment more affordable for parents,” Deputy Whitmore said.
“Even though the government has invested in it, it’s still not really meeting parents’ needs and it hasn’t reduced the price really to what the Government have promised.”
Ms Whitmore said the cap would be introduced while a new public model of childcare would be established at the same time.
“What we are looking at is a twin-track approach, so we would ensure the current system is operating properly for parents, that [it] is affordable and at the same time we would start developing the pathway to the new model,” Ms Whitmore said.
The Social Democrats TD said that childcare not only needs to be publicly funded, but also publicly run.
Along with the monthly cap, the Social Democrats would also invest in capital infrastructure needed for the public model, they said.
“We would build new childcare facilities, we would purchase vacant childcare facilities that are sitting empty across the state and we would also start a voluntary buy up of existing settings,” the party said.
Ms Whitmore added that the party would ensure no new school is built without a childcare facility on site.
To fund this, the Social Democrats would allocate €100 million every year for five years for childcare infrastructure.
A national childcare agency would also be established, according to the policy.
Ms Whitmore said while the party would focus on a public childcare model, she didn’t think there would be a time when the sector is 100pc public.
“But we would hope to get as close as possible,” Ms Whitmore said.
The spokesperson said she has spoken to childcare providers and believes that the smaller services would like to be part of the public model.
“When you talk to the smaller entities, they are really being squeezed out by the current system and it’s the larger corporates that are doing well out of the model,” she said.
She added that smaller childcare providers would have security of employment in the public model and can stay working in a sector they love without being business owners.
Some childcare providers are in a standoff with the Government over the State’s core funding scheme. Many claim it does not pay them enough in exchange for freezing fees, and some have pulled out of the scheme, with parents hit with large fee increases as a result.
