Mothers in Republic work longer hours and rely on childcare more than NI mothers

Mothers work longer hours and rely more on childcare in the Republic whereas mothers in Northern Ireland are more likely to work part-time and rely on family and friends for childcare.

This is according to new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) that has compared early childhood education and childcare north and south of the Border.

Based on survey data and interviews, the Government-funded think tank found that childcare through creches, playschools and centre-based childcare was more common when mothers were employed and family income levels were higher in both jurisdictions.

“Mothers in Ireland face a starker choice between full-time employment and non-employment, while in Northern Ireland mothers are more concentrated in part-time work, which fits around available support from family/friends or Government-supported preschool hours,” the ESRI said.

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The average number of hours of childcare is substantially higher in the Republic, at 26 hours per week, compared with 16 hours in Northern Ireland. In the Republic , children in childcare the longest were those in centre-based care, the main childcare source, at 29 hours a week.

In Northern Ireland, children looked after by a childminder are, on average, in childcare the longest, at 21 hours per week while those in creche-based care are there the shortest, at 14.5 hours.

Childcare provided in creches and childcare facilities was more common in the Republic than in Northern Ireland and it was most common for children aged three to four years than for those aged nought to two, which is likely explained by the State support available for preschool care.

The ESRI report said that that children, in the North and South, are entitled to free universal preschool children and that the levels of take-up were very high.

There is an entitlement to term-time, part-time childcare hours in both systems but the hours are longer in the Republic (15 hours) than in Northern Ireland (12.5 hours), though some children in the North receive longer hours of free preschool, depending on local available services.

The ESRI, which carried out the research in partnership with the Shared Island unit in the Department of the Taoiseach, found that there were challenges around affordability for parents and employment conditions for childcare staff looking after children in their early years.

Ireland and the United Kingdom feature among the highest costs for full-time care across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, though childcare support schemes in the Republic and Northern Ireland reduce costs for low-income households.

The research found that staff working in early childhood care are on low pay and that staff retention “can be a challenge”. A new funding model and new employment regulations have been introduced in the Republic to address pay “but it is too early to assess the impact”, the ESRI said.

“In Northern Ireland, there is a wide disparity in the qualifications, pay and conditions of those working in private/voluntary settings compared to those working in the statutory sector,” the research said.

While there have been rapid policy developments concerning early childhood education and care in the Republic, people in Northern Ireland expressed frustration that the lack of an executive government at Stormont had stalled progress in implementing new policies.

One example provided in the report was that extensions in the hours of universal preschool provision had been implemented in the rest of the UK but not yet in Northern Ireland.

“Childcare systems in Ireland and Northern Ireland can learn from each other in promoting quality and inclusivity,” said Dr Helen Russell, an ESRI research professor and an author of the report.

“In both systems, there is further scope to improve the level of spending on young children in line with that in other wealthy countries and expand provision for children under three.”

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