SDLP Foyleside Councillor Mary Durkan
However, the councillor has added a note of caution that the support funding will not reach all of those in need within the sector, and that adequate longer-term investment in the North’s childcare sector is overdue.
Miss Durkan said: “The Childcare Recovery Support Package will provide a lifeline for many childcare providers.
“Relevant schemes will assist in the reopening of some settings while also helping to put necessary practical measures in place in compliance with COVID-19 guidance.
“However, the needs of some providers within the childcare system remain unaddressed.
“Many registered childminders feel undervalued.
“They stepped up during the pandemic, often taking risks, to enable key workers to work. Now these childminders have become the forgotten key workers.
“The childcare sector needs long-term support to deliver a system that is sustainable, affordable and accessible for the benefit of children, parents, employers and communities.
“The inadequacy of the current system in the North was evident prior to the pandemic.
“Calls for a sustainable childcare strategy meeting the needs of all were the subject of a motion passed unanimously by Derry City and Strabane District Council last year.
“Commitments to prioritise such a strategy were set out in the New Decade New Approach agreement and have since been discussed at the Assembly.
“The pandemic brought a renewed focus on the importance of childcare – a cross-cutting issue affecting the lives and livelihoods of so many.
“The challenges around the imminent return to schools are causing stress to many working parents.
“Aside from the financial costs of childcare, how do they manage to balance part-time schooling with home learning, work commitments and other responsibilities?”
Miss Durkan added: “Childcare costs continue to create barriers for working parents and many childcare providers are struggling to make ends meet.
“We must recognize that childcare will be a key feature of any economic recovery, and urgent action is accordingly warranted.”
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