Kilcullen will lose families, if no childcare solution - Mark Wall TD
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| Deputy Wall meeting some Kilcullen families last week. |
People with important skills could leave Kilcullen if a childcare crisis in the town isn't quickly dealt with, writes Brian Byrne. According to local TD Mark Wall, there's an urgent need for a premises to accommodate the childcare needs of more than 50 families, and a solution will require a direct state intervention.
He was speaking following a meeting with a number of families in Kilcullen where he heard about difficult choices being made, such as reducing working hours or even considering giving up careers. Adding that the Kilcullen situation is reflected in many other towns in the county, he warns that what he calls a 'massive' crisis threatens pushing women out of the workforce, with consequent loss of incomes and skill sets to the community.
The issue disproportionately affects women, he notes, as they are the ones who typically must make the choices between careers and looking after children. "Many in Kilcullen have moved there because it's a growing, vibrant town. They're professional women in the main, many of them in the public service. But they can't get childcare, and in many cases, because they moved, they are separated from family backup such as parents and grandparents who might have been able to help."
The deputy told the Diary that he has been approached by a number of childcare providers from outside Kilcullen who would consider setting up services in the town if a suitable premises could be made available. "The existing childcare providers in the town are fully stretched, with waiting lists, and these people are scrambling to find places for their young children. Unless something is done, Kilcullen could lose these families, who have brought important skill sets to the area, and that would really be sad."
Without an urgent state-led effort to meet the needs, communities like Kilcullen will lose doctors, nurses, gardaí and other public servants who would have to give up employment because they have to mind their children, or leave the town for places where they can get childcare, the deputy warns. In the immediate situation, he wants the government to step in and work with schools, sports clubs, HSE centres or any other location that might provide space for childcare.
The deputy emphasises that he is not suggesting taking over childcare from the private sector, but stepping in where the private services are not able to provide enough spaces. School aftercare is another part of the problem, as is getting enough qualified staff and playing them properly.
Licensed home-based childcare is under consideration at government level, as part of a range of solutions to the crisis. How childcare is managed in other parts of the world, like Scandinavia and Australia, is being looked at. But changes like these won't come quickly enough, Deputy Wall says. "We're also a long way still from the government ambition of making childcare affordable at €200 a month, and I'm in constant touch with Minister Norma Foley on that. But the bottom line at the moment, particularly in Kilcullen, is not enough places, and we have to deal with that now."
