Last week, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released figures showing that, contrary to media reports, demand for childcare places is much smaller than we thought. Despite this, State policy continues to discriminate against stay-at-home mothers, and a new policy shift is about to make this even worse. 

As we reported last week, the figures show that only one in ten children of primary school age receives paid child-care from a non-relative, while only four per cent of children of primary school age are put in child-care centres as such.

The figures showed that the vast majority of primary school children are looked after either by a parent (81 per cent), or by an unpaid relative (nine per cent), during day-time hours. A higher percentage, one-in-five, of pre-school children are looked after outside the home for part of each day (an average of 21 hours per week). 

Other CSO figures also show that married women with children are much less likely to work full-time than men. For example, a third of married women in their 40s don’t work at all. Most of these will have children under 12. Another 127,000 women work fewer than 20 hours per week compared with only 32,000 men. 

But despite these figures, the State continues to discriminate in favour of households where both parents are working. Yesterday, The Irish Time reported that the Government is abolishing a childcare supplement worth €1000-per-year to parents with children aged five and under, and instead will give this money directly to childcare providers, depriving parents of the choice as to how they want to provide care for their children. 

This move is on top of its tax individualisation policy, which penalises families where only one spouse is in paid employment to the tune of up to €6,240 per year. 

Of course, for households in which both parents work full-time, there is often no choice. But the Government seems convinced that creches are the Holy Grail for parents with children under 12. 

As the CSO figures from last week show, that premise is faulty. Most children are looked after by their own parents during the day. Many of the rest are looked after by relatives. Only a small minority are actually in child-care centres for part of each day and this diminishes when children start primary school. 

Under their new plan, however, all parents, whether they send their children to a creche or not, will be paying for childcare facilities. Parental choice clearly isn’t a priority for this Government, at least on the issue of childcare.