Childcare crisis “getting worse” in South-West Dublin says Murphy

Dublin South West People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has commented on the childcare crisis in his constituency, with research citing it as the worst place for childcare in the country.

Research by Gamma Labs found that there is an average of 1.8 children aged up to 4 for every créche place across the state.

Murphy commented, “this research confirms why parents have so much difficulty finding créche places for their children.”

“Dublin South-West, my constituency area, was found to have the worst crisis, with 2.2 children per child care place. That is the highest number of children aged up to 4 per créche place in the state.”

“Parents in Dublin South West are under intense pressure to find créche places for their children, and then they have to pay huge fees if they do eventually manage to find a place,” he said.

Murphy pointed to People Before Profit’s election manifesto, which called for a programme which would compel the state to “transition to a publicly owned and free childcare system by abolishing fees and immediately investing €1.5 billion to expand the number of childcare places, including by converting suitable state owned buildings into créche facilities.”

“This is what the new Government should initiate immediately. The childcare crisis is getting worse and emergency actions are required to relieve the pressure and costs on parents in Dublin South West and nationally.”