SINN FÉIN HAS today pledged to drastically reduce the cost of childcare if in government to €200 a month per child.

The party said delivering its total childcare plan, which it published today, would come at a cost of €609m annually.

Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson said the programme would be funded from the existing government surplus, which is currently more than €8bn.

“We don’t have to increase income tax to pay for this type of investment… because the state is recording significant surpluses each year and is projected to record significant surpluses each year,” Doherty said.

The €10 per day model is designed based on existing schemes in countries like Denmark, Sweden, Finland and parts of Canada where the price of childcare for parents is capped. 

According to a 2022 report by Pobal, monthly full-time childcare fees currently cost on average €800 per month. 

Speaking at the launch in Dublin today, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said the current system is “not fair and not sustainable”. 

The party has proposed to deliver the €10 a day scheme by bridging the gap between this and the actual cost by subsidising providers but implementing fee controls to ensure value for money for the state. 

Sinn Féin says the cost of delivering the €10 a day scheme will be €345m annually.

The party has also pledged to bring childminders under the scheme but it says this will not be possible in the first year of government. 

In addition to reducing costs, the party has pledged to deliver more childcare places by addressing issues with staff recruitment and retention. 

It says it would increase the hourly wage of childcare workers by €1.50 initially, with €53.8m ring-fenced for wages. 

The party has also pledged to conduct a review of Core Funding in the sector, looking at the efficacy and equitableness of how it is distributed among childcare providers. 

McDonald said today this plan is a stepping stone to a model of fully funded public childcare that is free for parents. 

1 year of parent’s leave 

As part of the party’s childcare plan, it has pledged to invest approximately €100m to allow parents to take leave for the entire first year of a child’s life. 

It argues that doing so will benefit children and also help relieve some pressure on capacity in the formal childcare sector, where staff to children ratios are at their highest for this age group.

Currently, statutory maternity benefit is available for 26 weeks, paternity benefit for two weeks and parent’s leave for 9 weeks (usable over two years). 

Under Sinn Féin’s proposal, the additional weeks will be bridged at the same weekly rate as parent’s benefit, which is currently €274 per week.