More than 100,000 essential workers require childcare support, says ESRI

Essential workers are facing “significant barriers” in accessing effective childcare services during the Covid-19 pandemic, a new study from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has warned.

Dr Paul Redmond, who co-authored the report, said Government plans to provide childcare arrangements to around 5,000 families working in healthcare would not meet the demand given that more than 100,000 essential employees have children under 14.

Dr Redmond also warned that essential employees working in lower paid positions, such as cleaners in hospitals or retail positions, would struggle to pay the proposed €90 a week fee for childcare support.

More than 22 per cent of workers in Ireland are classified by the Government as essential employees with health professionals making up seven per cent of the workforce, according to the ESRI.

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Nearly 70 per cent of all essential workers are female, particularly in healthcare and retail.

Just over half of essential workers have children while 9 per cent are lone parents – higher than the 5 per cent national rate of single parents.

Around two-thirds of essential workers, an estimated 100,000 people, have children under 14, while around 80 per cent have a partner that also works.

Some 20 per cent of essential workers have a partner who is also an essential employee, particularly those working in the defence and armed forces.

The research also found that around 14 per cent of essential workers are non-Irish nationals.

Doctors, nurses, medical technicians, ambulance workers, community health workers, hospital and nursing home health workers, the armed forces, gardaí, prison guards, fire fighters, retail workers and train, bus, taxi and tram drivers are all classified as essential workers in the study which used the official list published in March by Government to identify these workers.

However, the ESRI underlines that data constraints prevented researchers from identifying all essential workers.

Many of these essential workers are concentrated in lower paid jobs, working in retail or hospitals and nursing homes as healthcare workers, and thus will struggle to pay for additional childcare support, says the study.

It notes that unlike the UK, Ireland had not made direct provisions for the childcare needs of essential employees during the pandemic.

These workers “are essential so by definition they’re critical to keeping our economy and our society functioning properly and I think it’s important we provide adequate childcare for them”, Dr Redmond told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme on Friday.

He warned that any existing plans for childcare support only related to healthcare and hospital workers and did not extend to other essential employees in transport or retail.

“The continued ability of essential employees to carry out their duties is a critical aspect of Ireland’s ability to combat the Covid-19 crisis,” said Dr Redmond. “The evidence suggests that policies should be quickly developed to ensure that the childcare needs of effective workers in Ireland are met.”