Malta may be failing miserably in the provision of childcare facilities compared with other EU states, but the vast majority of Maltese would still prefer to leave children with their grandparents even if they had alternatives.

Just over 68 per cent of parents believe grandparents are the most suitable form of childcare after the mother, with just a quarter putting their trust in childcare facilities, according to a recent Employment and Training Corporation study, conducted by Economic and Management Consultancy Services.

The traditional family model still prevails in Malta and this study shows that 53 per cent of respondents are of the opinion that mothers of children under three should not be in employment.

"It is a reality that the majority of parents of children below the age of three still prefer not to make use of childcare facilities, due to strong family bonding," a spokesman for the Education Ministry said.

Reacting to last week's article in The Sunday Times, which exposed Malta as one of the worst performers in childcare services in the EU, the spokesman said that although attitudes were changing, it was still a custom in Malta for children under three to be brought up at home by the mother.

The spokesman also challenged the findings of the European Commission's report, which placed Malta at the bottom of the EU table on childcare services for children aged three up to mandatory school age.

Referring to 2007 data from the National Statistics Office, he said that 86.5 per cent of children aged three to five attended childcare facilities, which was higher than the EU benchmark of 84 per cent.

"There is certainly a statistical error in the percentage of children attending childcare facilities (57 per cent) as quoted in the Commission's report, which is based on 2006 data. There was no increase of 29.5 per cent in one year in the number of children attending childcare facilities, so something must be wrong," he said.

Moreover, he said, the government was committed to continue building more childcare centres and, through public-private partnerships, to ensure the possibility for mothers to return, or join, the workforce.

A spokesman for the Social Solidarity Ministry said that over the past three years there had been a concerted effort to increase childcare facilities in Malta through EU-funded schemes, public- private partnerships, and training.

The lack of childcare services was blamed by the Commission as one of the main reasons why Malta had the lowest rate of women working in the EU - 38.5 per cent.

According to the Lisbon targets, Malta had to almost double female employment to 60 per cent by 2010. However, according to Sina Bugeja, executive director of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality, it was highly unlikely Malta would reach these targets before 2016.

"We started working on this issue at a very late date compared to other European countries, even though we are now measured with the same instrument. Although progress is being registered, I still think we will not achieve our targets by 2010," she said.

Investment in education was beginning to tip the balance, she said, referring to the Prime Minister's statement earlier this week when he said that female employment in the 15 to 25 age bracket had surpassed the EU average (40 per cent) by eight per cent.

Women in Malta have long been hearing of promises of proper childcare facilities and improved infrastructure. Was it all sweet talk, without the political will?

"The will is there, but the general expectations may be too high, which include the notion of free childcare... A private-public partnership will go a long way in this regard, but of course payment has to be part of the equation," Ms Bugeja said.

If a system was introduced where parents could pay according to their income, it would be more manageable and possibly fairer.

Since kindergartens accepted children when they turned three, Ms Bugeja felt the remaining gap requiring more focus was in the age group from birth up to three, which was very staff intensive and probably more expensive.

She felt one of the major obstacles prohibiting women from entering the labour force full-time was the short schooling hours and the long holidays.

"We don't want the emphasis on the schooling hours to impinge on the current working conditions of teachers... but this merits a very serious discussion, now."

A study carried out by ETC had clearly indicated that if the support structures were in place, many more women would consider entering the job market.

"There are many individuals who are too ready to play on women's guilt complex when they are working and bringing up a family.

"However, I believe that while struggling with this, many will still find their way in the world of work and make a success of their lives and of their families," Ms Bugeja said.

Asked whether employers had warmed up to the concept of flexitime, she said there were those who had changed their working practices not to lose employees, but others still had an unacceptable attitude.

Anna Borg, chairman of the Malta Confederation for Women's Organisations, said parents using childcare centres would continue to increase if they were convinced their children were in a safe and stimulating environment.

The way forward, she said, was making it possible for women to go to work without asking them to choose between their job and their family.

"Men are never faced with this dilemma because most of the family burdens are left for women to carry. Until we have adequate structures and services that will alleviate that burden, and until work becomes more flexible, women will continue to be faced with this zero sum game and will continue to have constrained choices not real ones," she said.

Frances Camilleri-Cassar, social science research specialist, said the policy initiatives were still dominated by the idea that reconciling work and family meant improving conditions for women to do both.

"Although State policies may be seen as enabling gender equality, in practice they are trapped in the traditional way," she said.

Dr Camilleri-Cassar pointed out that the government had implemented fiscal measures to attract women into the labour market. "However, even when Malta has recognised the need for the provision of childcare, the state still keeps its distance from financing and organising the service," she said.

Malta's response to a longstanding demand for the provision of childcare was to publish a document on national standards for child day care facilities in July 2006.

"More than two years on, no attempt has yet been made to discuss a national childcare policy, and enforcement of the national standards for child day care is still on paper."