We lead call for rise in childcare funding
DUBLIN Chamber has become the the first business group to call for increased childcare funding in next year’s Budget.
It is recommending the maximum universal subsidy be doubled from €80 to €160 per month for young children in full-time care, with further similar increases to follow in the coming years.
Its chief executive Mary Rose Burke said: “Childcare affordability doesn’t just affect quality of life and family wellbeing. It is a hard business issue. Ireland’s greatest asset is its people. We need to invest in our workforce, both to protect quality of life and ensure business competitiveness ahead of Brexit.”
Research by Dublin Chamber found 75% of firms in the Greater Dublin Area report that the cost of childcare is having a negative impact on business.
Almost 20% of its members have specifically identified easing female
Childcare cost reform labour market participation as a solution to helping them access the skills they require.
Mrs Burke said: “Ireland has the largest gender gap in employment in Northern Europe, with the female employment rate in Ireland more than 10 percentage points lower than the male rate. This is clearly due to the burden of childrearing falling mainly upon women in a context of high childcare costs. Among people of childrearing age, there are 135,000 fewer women in the labour force than men. We need to turn this around.
“To make a real dent in 2019, we recommend doubling the maximum universal childcare subsidy under the Affordable Childcare Scheme from €80 per month to €160 per month for a child in full-time care.
“There is no one solution to this issue, and Government needs to examine the impact of its own taxation policies.
“We need to ask: how does the combined tax and benefit system influence a parent’s decision on whether to return to work?
“It is clear the attractiveness of returning to work, even at higher salary FEXCO have announced the acquisition of London’s leading retail foreign exchange company, Thomas Exchange Global.
The deal strengthens Fexco’s position as the largest independent FX operator in the UK where it holds 12% of the growing €9billion market.
The acquisition of TEG, which serves over 1 million customers in London across its 15 prominent branches, also positions Fexco as the largest independent FX operator in the city.
This deal represents
Fexco’s eighth levels generally expected by skilled employees, is weakened by the structure of the tax system and the low level of childcare support currently available.
“Women are disproportionately affected, but the Government has shown little intention of addressing this problem.
“To achieve gender equality, this will require comprehensive study at an official level.
“We are calling on Government to look at this problem in detail and commit to taking action on the basis of its findings by progressively removing barriers to entering the workplace, and by improving the targeted subsidy element of the Affordable Childcare Scheme.”
Analysis by Dublin Chamber suggests someone who withdraws from the labour force to give birth or care for an infant may only add marginally to net family income by returning to work. successful acquisition in the UK since 2012.
In that period Fexco has grown its share of the UK market from zero to 12% through a strategy that executed at attractive multiples, generating significant returns over accelerated payback periods.
Fexco’s Retail FX division now employs 500 people serving the Travel Money requirements of over 4 million customers through its UK and Ireland-wide network of 125 branches.
Fexco spokesman Joe Redmond said: “We are very pleased to have acquired a business with the reputation and reach of Thomas Exchange Global.
“The deal confirms our belief in the future of cash and its incomparable role in a balanced payments and travel money portfolio.”