Sinn Féin has made a pledge to reduce the cost of childcare to €10 a day by next year, although it fell short of guaranteeing free childcare by the conclusion of the next government’s tenure. The party’s leader, Mary Lou McDonald, announced these plans, saying that parents had felt the brunt of exorbitant childcare costs for far too long.
McDonald likened the expense of childcare to being on par with a second mortgage, denouncing it as both unfair and unsustainable. If Sinn Féin forms the government following the general election, they promise that parents will pay only €10 a day for each child attending creche, or similar ‘centre-based’ childcare, starting in September of 2025. Implementing this change would result in a €345 million bill for the state.
The proposed scheme would also bring Tusla-registered childminders on board from next year onwards. The party anticipates that extending this subsidy to other childminders will take more time due to the process of setting inclusion and registration standards. An additional 90,000 to 100,000 children could benefit from the scheme by the end of a term in government.
According to Sinn Féin, parents’ expenses will drop from €800 per month to €200. Currently, the Coalition’s key childcare strategy revolves around reducing fees by an average of 50%, with the latest cut taking effect this month. Child spokesperson for Sinn Féin, Clare Kerrane dismissed this measure, noting that parents are still faced with costly fees and considering their own €10 a day scheme to be a far superior solution.
In Sinn Féin’s 2020 manifesto, they committed to reducing fees by 66% during their first government term, evoking a vision to provide childcare as a free public service. When asked about the potential for free childcare by 2030, McDonald simply said, “We’re starting with this proposal at €10-a-day per child.”
“She emphasised that equal opportunities for every child could best be achieved through free-at-the-point-of-delivery services. Nevertheless, she also noted that there was still a vast amount of discussion and consultation necessary. Further, Sinn Féin’s suggestion of €10-per-day childcare demonstrated a very significant stride forward, she said.
In terms of Sinn Féin’s intentions to introduce free childcare by the conclusion of their government term, finance representative Pearse Doherty stated that this €10-per-day childcare was their commitment for the duration of their period in governance. In an earlier conversation about the party manifesto, Doherty had said, it was spread out over at least two terms of government, he believes.
Describing Sinn Féin’s position, Ms McDonald clarified, “We haven’t been in government.”
Additionally, Sinn Féin intends to elevate the wages of childcare staff by €1.50 per hour during their initial year as the government. It is a step towards addressing the ongoing “crisis” of acquiring and preserving staff in the childcare sector and is part of multiple strategies devised increase capacity within the sector.”