Finally, some good news for parents
Child benefit up and paid paternity leave on way
FAMILIES were the biggest winners in yesterday’s Budget.
Every child from age three to primary-school age will be able to avail of free pre-school education, while fathers are set to benefit from paid paternity leave.
The free pre-school year is for three hours a day, five days a week and will now be for 88 weeks over two years, and is worth €64.50 per child.
Two weeks of statutory paternity leave were announced yesterday too, but are unlikely to be introduced until September 2016 at the earliest.
Families are also set to see a €5 increase in Child benefit to bring the monthly payment up to €140 per child. This will come into effect in the New Year.
And the Government pledged that more than €15million will be used to make pre-school more accessible for children with special needs.
Furthermore, there will be an extension of the Community Childcare Subvention Programme, which offers parents on l ow i ncomes reduced rates for childcare, with 8,000 new places being created.
Despite the good news for families yesterday, questions were raised about the feasibility of the new paternity leave plan being introduced if Labour does not form a part of the next government.
But Tánaiste and Social Protection Minister Joan Burton said while legislation – as well as new IT systems – need to be prepared to introduce the scheme, work was already under way. As a result, the measure could be introduced earlier.
The paternity benefit will be paid at €230 per week, based on the same PRSI contributions required for maternity benefit.
Ms Burton said the measure would both support families as well as recognise ‘the important role of fathers in bringing up their children’.
Welcoming the Tánaiste’s announcement, Junior Minister for Justice and Equality, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, said he has been working on new legislation – the Family Leave Bill – which aims to ‘consolidate all of the existing pieces of legislation relating to family leave’.
‘When passed and enacted, it will give the legislative basis for paid paternity leave, recognising the special time for parents upon the birth of their child,’ he added.
But Seán Fleming, Fianna Fáil’s public expenditure spokesman, insisted that the Government’s announcements around child benefit, paternity leave and further free pre-school have to be viewed ‘in context’. He said childcare costs around 12 per cent of a family’s income across the EU, while that figure is 35 per cent here.
‘The average annual cost of fulltime childcare for a two-child family is €16,500,’ he said.
‘Many families who have young children are finding the cost of childcare to be as much as a second mortgage and in some cases it is much greater.’
He said the costs impact more on working mothers, forcing them to either cut their hours or to leave their jobs completely. Deputy Fleming added: ‘The childcare sector is struggling to deliver the f i rst pre- school year due to severe cutbacks. There is nothing here to address the issues of quality and staff training that needs to be confronted in the sector.’
And Renua Ireland leader Lucinda Creighton said that she believed the Budget – in terms of childcare – was a ‘visionless document’. ‘A fiver on child benefit or the extension of the early learning pilot scheme will have no impact on those with two children in childcare who need to earn
up to €30,000 a year just to cover its cost,’ she said.
‘This is way out of line with the rest of Europe. The allocation of a mere €85million for childcare means that either the Government don’t understand families or they don’t care. The second mortgage for childcare continues.’ She added: ‘On a conservative estimate, for those middle-income families we estimate that a €500million tax relief available to both creche operators and parents on an opt-in basis is needed.’