Childcare costs: Belfast protest planned over ‘disheartening’ lack of progress from Executive

PARENTS and children will take part in a major protest in Belfast this Saturday as frustration grows over rising childcare costs.

The Melted Parents NI campaign group say nearly 1,000 people are expected to attend the March for Childcare – starting from Writer’s Square at 10.30am and proceeding to Belfast City Hall.

Supported by several other organisations, the protestors are demanding action from Stormont over a childcare strategy that was first promised in 1999.

Earlier this week, two young families told the Irish News how yearly price increases were putting them in debt and making them question if they could afford to have another child.

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In February, the Education Minister Paul Givan said that progressing a new strategy could cost the Executive as much as £400 million.

Parents in Northern Ireland can currently access a 20% government tax discount for childcare up to a certain limit.

Other UK regions offer 30 hours a week of free early learning and childcare hours for three and four-year-olds during term time, which is to be extended to children over nine months in the coming years.

Working parents in Northern Ireland can currently access 12.5 hours of pre-school education for four-year-olds during term time.

Some parents have complained, however, that this actually increases their daily costs if they require full-time care, as they will pay both a full day care rate as well as a pick up and drop off fee from pre-school.

The Melted Parents group say there has been “a troubling lack of tangible progress” since the Stormont Executive returned, with parents’ bills increasing by around 11.5% in this time, costing around £15,000 per year for one child in full time care.

Their demands include involving parents in designing a new childcare system, urgent financial intervention in the short term and timeline for implementing a long-term strategy.

Other suggestions are removing the cap on tax-free allowance and increasing the government contribution from 20% to 30%, or alternatively topping up the contribution from Stormont’s budget.

Raissa Balduino and Clare Loye from Melted Parents said the march was the culmination of 13 months of continuous lobbying.

“Although we’ve heard nothing but supportive feedback and promises of action from party representatives and the Executive, the only noticeable change is that childcare costs have gone up by over 20% since last June, burdening families even more,” they said.

“While it’s disheartening that it has come to this point, we are excited for parents to have a visible opportunity to express their disappointment and demand change. This march serves as both a protest and a celebration of the power of parents and their growing political engagement.”

Last week, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said the Minister had made developing an Early Learning and Childcare Strategy “a top priority” and was committed to creating “a bespoke and affordable” scheme for Northern Ireland as well as introducing short-term measures.