Almost 17 per cent of parents who made use of the government’s free childcare scheme had to pay for the services after exceeding the absence entitlement, a spokesman for the Education and Employment Ministry said.
Last year, 5,105 children attended childcare centres for free as part of a government scheme offered to all working parents and those who are studying.
Parents can opt to send their children to whichever childcare centre they wish, public or private, with the government footing the bill.
A total of 5,867,829 hours were booked last year, an average of 101 hours a month per child, the spokesman said.
Parents are required to indicate the number of hours of day care that would be needed the following month. Each child is entitled to a number of overbooked hours, in case of sickness or other unforeseen situations where the child cannot attend. The spokesman said the system was designed to cater for such absences as well as sickness.
“The absence entitlement together with the monthly 10 per cent allowance provide parents with 300 hours of absence a year.” Only those parents whose children miss more than 300 hours would have to pay for the services, he said. The 300 hours is an example and varies according to the families' booked hours.
Parents can opt to send their children to whichever childcare centre they wish, public or private
If every registered child were to miss an hour every day, the government would be wasting €2.5 million a year as services booked would still have to be paid.
Parents are eligible for free childcare at a rate that is worked pro-rata to the mother’s, or the father’s in cases where he is the sole parent, employment hours.
Children who attend kindergarten tend to be absent for about 28 days every year, or about 168 hours. As a result, the spokesman said the stipulated 300 hours were “more than enough”.
In an attempt to improve control of the scheme and collect actual estimates, a system was introduced earlier this month whereby parents were each given a small device, similar to a plastic key. They were asked to clock in when they drop the child and again when the child is picked up later on during the day.
At present, children are not listed as excused in case of sickness, even if a doctor’s certificate is presented. The spokesman said that doctor’s certificates cost “only €10 to €15”, which he described as a low expense, and so parents could overbook more hours and then present a doctor’s certificate.