Childcare costs under microscope as Ireland has highest in EU
The high cost of childcare in Ireland is under the spotlight today, as figures from the OECD put our childcare costs as highest in the EU.
Across the European Union, childcare costs around 12% of a family's income, but in Ireland, it accounts for 35%.
The Children's Minister James Reilly will be taking part in the discussion along with representatives from the early childhood education sector.
The event is being hosted by the European Commission Representation in Ireland.
"If they have more than one child, it's simply not worth it for the second person to go out and work, when the childcare costs are taken into account," its Director, Barbara Nolan, said.
She also said that it wasn’t solely an issue affecting single-parent families, and that in many families, childcare duties fall to women. She said mothers should have the option to work outside the home if they want to.
"It's not a question of trying to make everybody go out to work, but it's a question about giving people a viable option - and that they don't have at the moment."
