The Minister for Children has revealed the reason why he wants to continue the ongoing childcare cost freeze.
Last year, childcare providers across the country agreed to keep the fee freeze going. The measure means that creches can avail of over €200 million in core funding from the government.
However, the system has continued to receive complaints from childcare providers, as they say that the funding is difficult to access with its many regulations.
Now, Minister Roderic O’Gorman has taken his opportunity to explain the reason why he wants to continue freezing costs.
During an interview on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland programme, Minister O’Gorman said that he would rather increase the funding that childcare providers can receive, rather than scrap the frozen fees altogether.
“If we remove the fee freeze we remove the ability to secure cuts in costs for parents. That’s because of the fee freeze, that’s why so many parents this January saw a decrease in the amount they’re paying for childcare costs,” he detailed.
The Minister went on to add that the government is “working to grow more investment in the sector in this year’s Budget,” and noted that he also wants “to continue to decrease fees for parents”.
“I’ll also be looking to continue to grow core funding so we can support providers,” he stated.
Minister O’Gorman’s comments come as a huge number of childcare providers have planned a protest outside Leinster House today.
Alongside the gathering outside government buildings, smaller local protests have also been organised across Ireland, due to take place tomorrow and on Thursday.
The Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP) has argued that the cost freeze has damaged creches rather than aided them.
Just last month, a report by the Department of Children concluded that 42 creches closed between January and June of this year, with a total of 141 businesses closing throughout last year.
