A network of 32 advocacy groups is to outline a model for the delivery of public childcare in Ireland on Thursday.
The group, which is working to address poverty, social exclusion and inequality, will publish its “principles for delivering a public childcare model”.
The document will be launched at an online event involving speakers representing parents, community providers, childcare professionals and workers, women and a range of political parties.
Paul Ginnell of the European Anti-Poverty Network Ireland said the current model of childcare in Ireland, which depends very heavily on the private market, “fails many people across society, particularly children and parents from low-income families and workers”.
Catherine Lane of the National Women’s Council said: “A properly designed and delivered public childcare model can play an important role in addressing poverty and disadvantage, and the wide-ranging structural inequalities that women experience.”
