Summary
- Extend the Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE) scheme to two year olds, increase hours from 15 to 33, extend 48 weeks a year.
- Expand the Affordable Childcare Scheme and the Universal Subsidy towards Childcare to all make sure parents pay max 3% of their incomes in line with the Scandinavian Model.
- Integrate care, education and after-school services by linking early care and education services, primary schools and after school services.
- Conduct a quality audit across all early years’ services to provide baseline data for the implementation of National Early Years Strategy.
- Publish a fully resourced rights-based National Early Years Strategy
- In the medium term move to A National Child Care Service paid for through direct taxation.
- Move towards an investment of 0.8% of net GDP and eventually to 1% of GDP.
- Better income supports, particularly for single parents and migrant women.
- Introduce a National Regulatory Body for Child Minders and After School Services
- Review qualifications of childcare workers. Expand the Learner Fund to provide support to allow childcare workers to professionalize to progress to FETAC levels 7 and 8.
- Unionise the industry and increase pay to reflect skills and responsibility.
- Encourage parents to participate in the organization and structure of crèches, through places on management bodies.
- Support stay at home parents with a review of the Growing Child Programme.
- Improve access for children with special needs to childcare services.
- Improving work-life balance for parents so that parents can work and bring up their children. This will mean more flexible working arrangements for parents.
- Twelve months paid leave to be split between parents once a child is born.