McManus raises 'extortionate' childcare costs in European Parliament

Chris MacManus, MEP for Midlands Northwest, has told the European Parliament that more must be done to make childcare affordable for Irish families.

Speaking during a debate on the gendered impact of the cost-of-living crisis, MEP MacManus brought attention to the many women in Ireland who have been forced out of the workforce due to the inaccessibility of childcare.

The Sinn Fein man said: “Throughout the pandemic, it was the women of Ireland that sustained our societies. The weight of paid and unpaid caring responsibilities, as well as work in low-paid essential services, was disproportionately carried by women.

“Now post-pandemic, and faced with a cost of living crisis, the disproportionality continues.

“Irish women often act as the 'shock absorbers' of the cost of living crisis, going without food, clothes or heating to protect and provide for their families.

“The childcare system in Ireland is on its knees, with families paying akin to a second mortgage each month, meanwhile workers in the childcare industry, predominantly women, are barely earning enough to make ends meet.

“Many qualified and very capable women are forced to make the difficult decision to remove themselves from the workforce, as they’re not earning enough to make paying extortionate childcare fees feasible.

“Action must be taken to introduce a truly affordable childcare system in Ireland and finally give families the break they badly deserve.”