21 September 2015: Limerick Chamber has highlighted the business need for affordable, high-quality and accessible childcare service, urging Government to set out a roadmap for future development in Budget 2016.
Speaking on the need for Budget 2016 to adequately address childcare policy, Dr. Órlaith Borthwick, Director of Policy at Limerick Chamber, said: “Access to affordable, high-quality childcare has long been a problem for both parents and employers in Ireland. Until we re-think our approach to childcare services our businesses will continue to lose talented employees, parents will be forced out of work, and Government will lose out on potential additional taxation revenue.”
“The time has now come to address these issues. Ireland is competing against the top performing countries in the OECD for investment and market access and our childcare sector must reflect the needs of working parents and the economy. We can no longer afford to ignore the need to invest in our children and provide them with the best start in life. Neither can we afford the extraordinary loss in skills and talent arising from the fact that 50% of women with two or more children do not re-enter the workforce.”
Limerick Chamber’s statement came on the back of a Chambers Ireland’s publication which sets out the Chamber networks vision on how an investment in children is an investment in the country’s economic potential.
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