60,000 kids out of school as parents are warned of little-known 'syndrome'
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05 Sept 2025
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05 Sept 2025
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File photograph: The call was made by a Sinn Féin TD based in Kildare-South.
TDs in County Kildare 'must to stand up for struggling parents' and 'act to ease cost-of-childcare burden on parents.'
These were the sentiments expressed by Sinn Féin TD Patricia Ryan earlier today.
Speaking ahead of her party's party’s Dáil motion on the issue, which was brought forward by Sinn Fein's spokesperson on
Children, Kathleen Funchion TD, Deputy Ryan said that her party is calling for the government 'to give hard-pressed families a break' by cutting the cost of childcare by two thirds from 2022 levels.
Deputy Ryan said: "Childcare fees are still far too high; paying the equivalent of a second mortgage on childcare in the
middle of a cost-of-living crisis with record energy costs and housing costs, is pushing many families to the brink.
"The government can and must act to ease the burden on parents, and I am calling on TDs in County Kildare to stand up for struggling households."
Patricia Ryan TD (Sinn Féin).
She continued: "The rising cost of living is making childcare a luxury rather than an economic necessity.
"Parents cannot avail of affordable childcare, and this is preventing women in particular, from entering the workforce and further education, and is in fact forcing them from the workforce.
"Parents need affordable, local and high-quality childcare, and they need it now.
"They were promised that fees would decrease by 25 per cent in budget 2024, and the government must keep its word.
"The reality is the 25 per cent decrease in fees in budget 2023, while welcome, only slightly eased the financial burden on parents, given that many families continue to pay sky-high childcare fees."
She further said that Ms Funchion is calling for the government to allocate additional funding to provide 'fair pay' for professionals working in the sector.
Ms Ryan concluded: "I am urging the government, and TDs from all parties in County Kildare to support our motion this
week, and to make childcare genuinely affordable for working families."
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