Responding to the Irish Government’s call for feedback and suggestions on Future Investment in Early Years and School-Age Care and Education, MummyPages.ie, Ireland’s biggest online parenting community has engaged parents nationwide to have their say.
The subject of quality and affordable childcare and education is one that our MummyPages mums are passionate about with 2,418 mums participating in this the country’s largest ever survey on the childcare crisis facing the Republic of Ireland. Surprisingly there is little disparity between the views of working mums and their stay-at-home counterparts who engaged in the research.
The solutions proposed by mums are not only practical and achievable, but if led by Government investment and in partnership with the childcare sector, primary schools and employers; meaningful change could take place.
Key Mum Insights:
- 83% of parents believe Ireland is experiencing a childcare and/or early education crisis
- 94% of mums say private childcare is too expensive
- The Norwegian model of childcare and early education was voted favourite by mums even if implementing it meant higher taxes and a reduced child benefit payment
- 89% of mums think that private childcare should be subsidised by the government
- 93% of parents think the government should provide a subsidy to all schools running after-primary-school care programmes to make childcare more affordable for working parents
- 77% of stay-at-home and part-time employed parents and would consider returning to the workplace full-time if childcare was more affordable
- 69% of employed and self-employed parents say that the high cost of childcare has impacted their decision to change career or seek flexible/part-time work
- 84% of working parents struggle to budget for their children’s childcare costs
- 71% of working mums want more flexibility with their working hours when caring for children up to age 12
- 88% of parents think that large employers of 200+ staff should be government funded to provide onsite subsidised childcare facilities for working parents
- 100% of parents think employers should be supported by the government to facilitate flexible employment arrangements to support mums returning to the workplace after maternity leave
- 89% of parents think the government should introduce a second free pre-school year
- 82% of stay-at-home parents say free pre-school year greatly benefited them and their child by offering them a social and independent learning opportunities while also easing the transition to primary school
Key ‘Stay-at-Home Mum’ Insights:
- 77% of stay-at-home parents would you consider returning to the workplace full-time if childcare was more affordable
- 78% of stay-at-home parents state the high cost of childcare has impacted their decision to either change career, seek flexible/part-time work or become a stay-at-home mum
Because of the high cost of childcare:
- 68% of mums were prevented from looking for a job
- 35% of mums had to turn down a job
- 33% of mums were stopped from studying or training
- 43% of mums were restricted in the amount of hours they could work or study
81% of stay-at-home mums choose to stay-at-home with the main reasons being:
- 69% couldn’t afford childcare
- 55% of mums wanted to look after their own child themselves
- 25% of mums have been put off childcare by peers or media stories
- 17% of say there are no suitable jobs with a work/life balance available for them
- 12% weren’t getting appropriate family support in the workplace
- 4% felt shamed into it by their partner, family or friends
46% of stay-at-home mums are not happy with the level of support they receive in the home:
- 51% not enough help from their partner
- 21% criticism from their partner
- 49% expectations by partner that they should do all the childcare and the housework even when they are at home
- 42% not enough help from extended family members
- 35% feel less equal to / less respected by their partner resulting in relationship problems
68% of stay-at-home mums feel under pressure in their role because:
- 49% don’t have enough time for themselves
- 29% struggle to balance childcare, family and a home
50% of stay-at-home mums will not ask for help when they need it because:
- 75% feel it is their responsibility to do all childcare and housework jobs
- 64% feel like people won’t understand why they need help
- 49% don’t want to burden their partner or extended family
58% of mums feel like they’ve lost respect since becoming a stay-at-home mum citing the following people:
- 23% partner
- 46% friends without children
- 49% friends with children who work outside the home
- 48% former work colleagues
The biggest problems listed by stay-at-home mums include:
- 77% the presumption that it’s an easy job
- 71% isolation
- 32% lack of respect from friends, family and peers
- 30% feel less equal to their partner
59% of stay-at-home mums believe their career has been affected because of their decision and that they will have great difficulty rejoining the workforce if they so wished because:
- 86% a gap on CV looks bad
- 60% viewed by employer as being too preoccupied with family to do the job properly
- 27% falling behind on industry developments
Key Insights Employed & Self-employed Mums:
Employment breakdown:
- 71% are full-time (17% are self-employed)
- 29% are part-time (64% are self-employed)
The main driving forces for mums choosing to work are:
- 81% financial
- 7% to maintain career progression
- 5% own desire to work
- 6% own emotional well-being
94% of working mums use the following means of childcare:
- 38% private crèche or nursery
- 27% grandparent or extended family member
- 22% local child minder
- 13% au pair
Working mums experience difficulty with their childcare arrangements when:
- 55% when their children are sick
- 43% when they can’t engage in workplace social activities
- 24% when their child minder was sick
- 19% of mums had to turn down a job promotion because it would mean longer hours
84% of working parents struggle to budget for their children’s childcare costs
92% of working mums find it difficult to balance work and home life
74% of working mums feel they are under pressure at work because of responsibilities at home:
- 32% would like their boss to be more understanding
- 11% would like their colleagues to be more understanding
- 87% want more flexibility with working hours
- 39% the ability to work from home when needed
85% of working mums find themselves under pressure at home because of their work, with 49% not happy with the level of support they receive at home:
- 57% would like more support from their partner
- 28% would like more support from extended family
- 71% want more flexible working hours from their employer
Benchmarking Ireland’s Childcare & Early Education System:
Mums ranked the following country’s childcare and early education systems in order of preference
- 1st – Norway
- 2nd – France
- 3rd – Ireland
Mums are in favour of adopting a model of more affordable childcare like Scandinavian countries or France if it meant:
- 46% Higher taxes for everyone
- 71% reducing the current child benefit payment
- 22% removing the current child benefit payment
Government Action to help Working Parents:
MummyPages mums believe that the government should introduce the following initiatives to help working parents:
- 93% – State subsidised childcare public facilities for children under 3 years with free pre-school hours for children aged 3-5 years and state subsidised after school care in school locations for primary school children.
- 86% – Tax credits applied throughout the year
- 71% – Tax relief on payments made at the end of the year
- 67% – Higher child benefit monthly payment
- 60% A voucher system which can be redeemed by professional childcarers
Maternity Leave:
- 69% of working parents think the current maternity entitlements (26 weeks maternity leave + 16 weeks additional unpaid maternity leave) are insufficient with
- 95% of mums think the government should extend paid maternity leave from 26 to 30 weeks
- 85% of parents believe the government should extend the amount of time mums can take unpaid maternity leave from 16 to 20 weeks
- 61% of parents think two weeks paid paternity benefit is not enough for fathers
100% of working parents think employers should be supported by the government to facilitate flexible employment arrangements to support mums returning to the workplace after maternity leave
Private Childcare:
- 35% of parents are happy with the quality of private childcare services available in Ireland
- 92% of parents think the government need to invest in the education and ongoing training for those working in private childcare services
- 99% of parents think the government need to introduce a mandatory minimum number of checks on private and public childcare services every year
- 5% of think that CCTV monitoring should be mandatory in all public and private childcare facilities
- 96% of parents think the Government should provide funding for childcare providers and invest in a proper support infrastructure before introducing programmes such as Aistear
Free Pre-School Year (ECCE)
- 80% of stay-at-home parents say free pre-school year greatly benefited them and their child, rising to 93% of working parents.
- 89% of parents think the government should introduce a second free pre-school year
- 76% of stay-at-home parents are happy with the free pre-school year initiative as it is currently offered by the government dropping to 55% of working parents who say the 3-hour day is not long enough
- 82% of stay-at-home parents say free pre-school year greatly benefited them and their child by offering them a social and independent learning opportunities while also easing the transition to primary school
Summary:
According to the MummyPages mums, the government should focus on tackling the following areas when deciding on where to invest in childcare and early education services:
- 92% Quality
- 100% Affordability
- 70% Accessibility
- 78% Choice
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