Brian Stanley calls for state-led childcare in Laois
Brian Stanley addressed urgent childcare pressures in Laois highlighting soaring fees, local shortages and the loss of preschool places. He urged the government to deliver real funding, staff pay improvements and a state-led childcare system to meet planned population growth.
Local crisis and costs
Brian Stanley outlines the affordability crisis facing parents in Laois citing average childcare costs around €800 per month and examples up to €1,400. He warns that planned small fee reductions are insufficient and that the October budget must show significant progress on fees and core funding.
Shortages and planned growth
The deputy details multiple local black spots for all-day provision. He stresses the mismatch between the county council's rezoning for 8,200 new houses and the current shortage of places.
Funding, staffing and state provision
Stanley welcomes the government plan for €135 million over four years for state-led facilities but says at least one facility must be delivered in Laois per year for the next four years. He calls for improved pay, recruitment measures, reduced bureaucracy for small providers and a wider shift to a state-led childcare model in line with other EU states.
Implications for policy and families
The speech frames childcare as both an economic and social challenge: unaffordable fees and gaps in supply risk undermining family finances and planned population growth. Stanley argues the state must move from subsidy to direct provision to secure affordable, sustainable childcare in Laois
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Minister, the whole issue of access to affordable childcare has become critical for many parents. Affordability is an issue and is putting huge financial pressure on top of a whole raft of other increasing costs. There's an average, in the case of leashes, the average cost according to the Childcare Committee is €800 per month, but I've come across it as high as €1,400 a month being quoted. The shortage of places is the other issues, and there are several black spots across the county. In common with other counties, parents just can't get access to childcare. And according to the local Childcare Committee again, towns such as Portlaoise, Port Arnington, Mount Melick, Mount Trott, Graycullen, Rath Downie, Abbeleak, Storrow, Arlis, Ballyleinan are all short of all-day provision. Some have no all-day provision at all. And Mount Trott is losing the ECCE preschool this month. That's very unfortunate. And the government want a population increase in Leash, and that's fair enough. They want a population increase in the county of 25% over the next four to five years, moving to 35% over the next seven years or so. Leash County Council recently re-zoned lands for an additional 8,200 houses to be developed over the next four years, and further increases planned after that. And as matters stand, there's already long waiting lists and a huge shortage of providers. So action is required to meet the growing demand. Fianna Fáil and Fianna Ghael promised to reduce monthly fees to 100 euros, but we're a long ways away from that. There is a planned reduction in September, I believe, of 14.30 per month, but at that rate it would take 14, 15 years to actually get to that reduction planned by government. The budget in October must see significant progress on fees, but also improving core funding. Progress is also required on staffing pay levels. Governments plan for 135 million over four years to provide directly purchased state-led buildings and childcare facilities. I welcome that. But given the existing pressures in Leash and the massive population increase that's planned, at least one of these needs to be put in Leash each year over the next four years. As I said, wages for staff needs to be addressed and recruitment. A career in childcare has to be seen as a viable career for young people, and that has to be made attractive. We need to reduce the bureaucracy and volume of administrators for the small private providers where we have them. But overall, the state has to become the provider of childcare. We have to follow what they do in other EU states. We need a state-led system.
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