Our childcare policies have reduced the options for parents; other countries meanwhile have invested to achieve greater female participation in the workforce and lower child poverty rates, writes Valerie Richardson
Childcare provision has become central in policy discussions in all the major political parties and is accepted as an issue which will be of significance in any run-up to a general election.
One of the conclusions of last year's Daly report on the public consultations on families and family life in Ireland was the need for a balance between employment and family life as an underlying principle for future family policy in Ireland.
The general view was that employment and economic growth has become a priority and where work life balance is addressed as an objective, it is considered in terms of ensuring that people's family life does not hinder them becoming active members of the labour force.
However, members of the public who participated in the forums said they want to reclaim an independent place for the family and that "family" in its own right should be the concern of policy.
In addition they emphasised the importance of choice in making decisions concerning their parenting and work responsibilities. The recent meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party spent some time discussing the view that individuals should be regarded as human resources and as such should be supported and nurtured in their efforts to be fully participant members of society in their caring, work, political, social and community lives.
The provision of readily available, good quality, affordable childcare has been consistently identified as the major inhibiting factor to participation of women in the paid workforce and a strong influence on the ability of individuals to have real choice concerning their parenting roles.
The OECD review of childcare policies (1991) described Ireland as subscribing to a maximum private responsibility model of childcare where the State intervenes only to provide a safety net of minimal childcare support for the poor or children at risk, to allow free market forces in the provision of private childcare services and to provide regulations for minimal quality control.
Under the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, the Government has provided tax incentives and grant aid to suppliers to increase childcare places to the extent of almost €500 million.
In addition it has provided a co- ordinated approach to the delivery of childcare services through the local childcare committees but it has not given subsidies or tax allowances to parents to assist in paying the increasing costs.
Improving rates of child benefit for all families has been the policy of choice of the Government, arguing that this allows parents a choice on whether to use it for childcare costs.
Despite growing economic prosperity, Ireland has the lowest level of expenditure on childcare of any EU state, estimated at 0.4 per cent of GDP. The lack of State intervention has meant that families are faced with high levels of childcare costs paid from their own private means or must rely on family members, mainly grandparents, many of whom are returning to or are in the workplace themselves.
The OECD in 2004 pointed out that in Ireland the current policy position is unsustainable where childcare costs "average over 30 per cent of disposable income for the average production employee".
It is worth examining how other EU countries address their childcare policy issues.
The Nordic countries provide an example of social democratic regimes which support high levels of statutory investment focusing on child wellbeing, a high level of female labour force participation and gender equality.
In so doing, Sweden, Norway and Denmark concentrate on generous periods of paid maternity and parental leave which support parents to remain at home for the first 12 months of a child's life. Researchers suggest this has the potential for improving child health, increasing attachments and reducing maternal stress and leads to longer periods of breast-feeding.
Childcare provision and subsidisation of costs are also generous.
In Denmark, parents pay a maximum of one third of the cost, in Sweden 20 per cent, Finland between 10 per cent and 15 per cent and in Norway it is means-tested but no parent pays more than 45 per cent. The main provisions in Denmark are a combination of daycare facilities in creches and kindergartens, child-minders working for the local autorities and after-school leisure facilities for six- to nine-year-olds.
As a result of these provisions and subsidies, female labour force participation rates have increased substantially and the level of child poverty has fallen. For example, 77 per cent of mothers in Denmark are in employment and Denmark also has a child poverty rate of 2.4 per cent, the lowest of the 24 OECD countries. In Ireland, 53.9 per cent of mothers with one child are in employment, falling to 50.3 per cent for mothers with a second or subsequent children; the child poverty rate is 15.7 per cent (Unicef report 2005).
While other EU countries such as France and Belgium have been less generous than the Nordic countries in their provisions, nevertheless they provide full childcare services for between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of under three-year-olds and have increased levels of parental leave. Italy, Portugal, Belgium, France and the Netherlands are moving towards making additional services available for children under three years of age and for school aged children. (NWCI report 2005).
In its recent report, An Accessible Childcare Model , the National Women's Council of Ireland has stated:
"What is clear is that while different countries have adopted different approaches, usually based on economic and demographic structures, there has been a near-uniform policy shift towards universal access for all children of pre-school age, improvements in maternity and parental leave provisions and improved access for children of all other age groups to extended care services."
John Waters (The Irish Times September 26th) strongly criticises the report for putting forward proposals which would produce a scheme for "the farming out of Irish children from the age of one". He also states that the comprehensive plan proposed would merely result in diminishing the role of parents who "will be required each morning to hand over their children to fuel a further sector of the increasingly insatiable Celtic Tiger".
In making such statements, he seems to have missed the point concerning the need to develop a comprehensive childcare policy. A comprehensive and co-ordinated childcare policy is not just about providing workers for the economy. It serves a much wider agenda. It provides realistic choices for parents in relation to working outside or within the home and on how they wish to carry out their parenting functions.
The current position reduces choice for many parents, particularly mothers, from working outside the home because of the lack of affordable and available childcare provision. It also limits the opportunities for parents who, out of necessity, need to increase their family income.
No one can seriously believe that such a policy is designed merely to force people into the workforce against their will. Childcare policy is also about equality of opportunity for women in the workforce, reducing the loss of qualified and skilled workers, providing economic advantage at the macro level of the State and micro level of families, reducing child poverty and providing the educational and social advantage of early child education.
It also contributes to opportunities for adults to return to education and training as part of the Government's aim of producing a knowledge-based society and its commitment to a policy of life long learning.
There are also social and demographic factors. In a situation where over the last decade, the birth rate has been consistently below replacement level, (1.8 per 1,000 population in 2004 where 2.1 per 1,000 represents replacement level), it may contribute to parental decisions around family size. This is an important consideration in a society faced with an ageing population overall and where the age dependency ratio is estimated to reach a level of 55 per cent by 2030. (Central Statistics Office 2005)
The women's council report should be regarded as compulsory reading for anyone seriously interested in these areas of policy.
It is thoroughly researched based on best international practice and produces a cogent argument for an integrated work/life balance agenda.
The plan put forward facilitates parents in making choices, facilitates female participation in public spheres and supports women wishing to avail of education and training. It also ensures that all children, regardless of household income, are entitled to and can access quality developmental supports from an early age.
However, it is not just about women. The proposals are designed also to facilitate fathers in taking a more active role in parenting through providing paid parental leave of longer duration.
The report provides a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the proposed model which combines increased periods of paid parental leave, subsidised childcare costs, increase in commitment to early childhood education and care and demonstrates the substantial benefits to children, women, parents and wider society to be achieved by its implementation.
It estimates that increased investment in policies aimed at work/life balance would amount to just less than 1 per cent of GDP annually.
This would be a substantial increase on present levels but would not be markedly different from other European countries.
The important issue here is that the long-term benefits of such an investment are far wider than just encouraging mothers back into the workforce.
It should be viewed as an investment in the future adult working population who will contribute to economic and sustainable development which, in turn, will provide the resources to support the increasing numbers of older persons who will be dependent on them in the future.
Dr Valerie Richardson is head of the school of applied social science in University College Dublin and Irish member of the European Observatory on the Social Situation, Demography and the Family