If Fine Gael’s initial budget is given back to the government, it would set a monthly ceiling on childcare costs at €200, reports The Mirror.
On Wednesday morning, the party unveiled its childcare policy, promising to “set fair wages for childcare educators” and add 30,000 more childcare spots.
Neale Richmond, the party’s children’s spokesperson, was unable to provide the Irish Mirror with the rate, reports The Mirror.
Launched by Justice Minister Helen McEntee, Mary Seery-Kearney, Emer Currie, and Minister Richmond, the program would restrict childcare expenses at €200 per month, or €600 for families with more than three children.
Additionally, by 2030, Fine Gael promised to provide 30,000 new early learning spots to public early learning and school aged care programs. Additionally, it will increase the number of free preschool hours and establish ECCE as a legal right, reports The Mirror.
Fine Gael in Government will implement the cap within the first year, according to Minister McEntee.
“The intention is to provide these cost reductions or these caps in the first budget. That means a cap of €200 euro per child, with a cap of €600. We intend to introduce that in the first year. We can see, again, the implications for so many families with the cost at the moment. We want to introduce this as quickly as possible. We have costed it and it will be costed in the upcoming [manifesto],” she said, reports The Mirror.
Additionally, Fine Gael stated that it will look at a second-tier of pay-related benefits and child benefits for parents on leave. Additionally, it said that a new permanent double Child Benefit payment will be established and distributed annually in August.
Mr. Richmond said that he would not participate in “auction politics” when the Irish Mirror asked him how much they would pay childcare staff, but that it was already fixed at “€2 over what the minimum wage” was, reports The Mirror.
Additionally, Fine Gael created a new video in which children quizzed the Taoiseach about daycare.
Ms. McEntee refuted the claim that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had identical positions regarding the decriminalisation of narcotics possession, reports The Mirror.
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