Malta is one of the worst performers in the EU when it comes to the provision of childcare facilities for pre-school aged children, according to a new report published by the European Commission.
This is probably one of the main reasons why Malta has the highest percentage in Europe of women staying at home instead of participating fully in the labour market.
Malta ranks 25th out of the 27 EU member states in the report that measures the progress made by member states to provide childcare facilities to pre-school children.
Only eight per cent of children under three were provided with public or private childcare facilities in 2006, the report says. The EU average stood at 26 per cent and only Poland and the Czech Republic performed worse than Malta.
Malta also ranked at the bottom of the table when it comes to childcare services for children aged three to mandatory school age.
Despite the fact that in 2006, a total of 57 per cent of children in this age category were attending some form of childcare facility, which also includes pre-grade school, only Poland and Lithuania performed worse than Malta in the EU. In this age group, the EU's average is much higher and stands at 84 per cent.
Back in 2002, the EU had set targets to be reached by each member state by 2010. These include the provision of child-minding facilities for at least 33 per cent of children aged up to three, and 90 per cent for children from three years to mandatory school age.
Malta has a great deal of work to do if it is to reach these targets in just two years time.
"We think that Malta has to pull its socks up and start taking these targets seriously," a Commission official told The Sunday Times.
"It is very evident that the lack of services being provided in Malta is keeping many mothers at home and this is a waste of resources. If Malta wants to increase its productivity, more females need to participate in the active labour market."
Malta has by far the lowest percentage of women working in the EU. According to the latest Eurostat figures, only 37 per cent of Maltese women between 16 and 64 had a full-time or part time job by the middle of this year. The others are all inactive taking care of the family. The average participation of women in the labour market in the EU in mid-2008 stood at 58.3 per cent.
On the other hand, Malta is faring well when it comes to male employment which at 74.2 per cent is two percentage points better than the EU average. The imbalance between male and female employment in Malta is the widest in the EU.
The EU's report on childcare facilities shows that Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Spain have the best facilities in the EU for the lower age-group (up to three years old) and have already surpassed the EU objective of a 33 per cent coverage rate.
Regarding children between three and the mandatory school age, eight member states including Belgium, Denmark, France and Germany have surpassed the set objective of a 90 per cent coverage rate.
EU Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla said that adequate and accessible childcare is crucial to allow parents to work, to strengthen gender equality and to reinforce social inclusion.
"Childcare is also a vital ingredient in facing up to demographic ageing: without proper support services, parents are less likely to have children. National governments need to address the challenge and the EU will support their efforts with €0.5bn of EU funding up until 2013 to help develop childcare facilities."