Childcare has been one of the dominant themes in discussions on personal finance for years now. And when people speak about childcare, almost invariably, they speak about the provision of childcare services which are safe and affordable for women with young children who want to return to work.
This focus, according to several callers in today’s Liveline, is completely unfair to women who choose to stay at home to raise a family, and that unfairness has been once again demonstrated with the provisions of yesterday’s budget.
“I fully respect people that make a choice to continue to work for the betterment of their family. But I do think that the government needs to put some plan in place to give an incentive for parents to put their own efforts into their childcare. I am not subsidised at all to look after my own child. It’s an expense for me to be at home.”
They were the words of Brigid, one caller who texted the show to say she was “hopping mad” at the direction we are taking, as a society. Brigid had been, in her own words, a “high earner” until she decided to start a family and took the decision to take a break from work. She now has five children.
“After spending 12 years paying a very high rate of tax, I feel very let down by the government over the last number of years for not supporting me in my choice of how I rear my family.”
The unfairness, according to Brigid, goes beyond individual cases such as her own, beyond what she feels is discrimination towards stay-at-home mothers. The unfairness, she says, extends across society, where communities are suffering as a result of this policy.
For Brigid, it would actually pay to return to work, but she feels she shouldn’t have to. In other words, she doesn’t feel this discussion should be purely about finance, but about the type of society we want to build.
All of this takes place in the context of the new affordable childcare scheme, a scheme championed by Minister for Children Katherine Zappone. The scheme has been welcomed by the National Women’s Council, who have gone as far as to describe it as a “breakthrough”, but it has been criticised as discriminatory by the Stay-At-Home Parents Association.
Sally Anne Barrett, living in Ballinasoe, concurred.
“I just feel there is no recognition for somebody who makes a decision, like we have made, to rear your own children at home. The benefits are only there if you decide to get them up at whatever hour of the morning to bring them to a childcare provider.”
Sally Anne did that for three days a week after she had her first child with her husband but found the lack of time with her child during the week was intolerable.