Childcare system found to discriminate
A report published today shows a high level of inequality in the childcare system, and highlights the fact that some parents do not have the same access to services as most other Irish families.
The study, carried out in north Dublin which has seen the biggest population increase in recent years, shows that parents of children with special needs, Travellers and asylum seekers are being discriminated against by the childcare system.
And lone parents have more difficulty in accessing services than two-parent families.
Cost, transport and discrimination are the biggest barriers in the way of these groups making use of facilities while social isolation and a lack of available information were also cited as problems.
The report recommends that childcare service provisions should respond to the diversity of needs of parents in Ireland today.
Authors of the report stressed that any childcare policies drawn up by the Government must ensure an end to the inequality in the system.
