One Labour general election candidate, who is the former manager of an early childhood facility, said parents are “wishing their child’s life away” so that the cost of childcare becomes more manageable.
The Labour Party has called for childcare fees to be capped at €50 per week per child and for the Government to set up publicly funded facilities.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said that if she were in Government, her party would deliver a public childcare system that would "deliver a universal and publicly provided system of early childhood education and care" that would guarantee a place for every child, cap costs at €200 per child per month, and provide professional pay to early years’ educators.
Eilish Balfe, a Labour candidate for Meath East, said that she left the industry after 16 years because the quality of her community service was slipping due to difficulties recruiting and retaining staff and rising costs."You can't wait to get them into the over twos because then you get your €64 with the ECCE .
Ms Bacik, who said her plan would cost €170m each year, insisted that her party had been suggesting this for several years and not just as an election approached.
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