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EXCERPTS
Hundreds of parents and childcare workers protested yesterday amid warnings that controversial government funding changes could devastate the sector and lead to widespread creche closures.
The protests -- organised in Dublin and Cork by the trade union SIPTU -- aim to force a re-think on the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS) which, critics claim, will generate both higher fees and the closure of smaller creches.
SIPTU childcare organiser Darragh O'Connor warned that the changes could prove disastrous for the sector.
"Up until recently, projects received a staffing grant that allowed them to set fees that took full account of the individual circumstances of each family.
"However, the introduction of the CCSS has seen this replaced by a rigid set of criteria that has seen fees rise dramatically for many low-wage families," he said.
In some cases, the impact on fees has been enormous -- with some facilities having to increase their charges for working parents by a 113 per week.
In other cases, projects have been forced to focus on the children of social welfare recipients -- wrecking what had been a valuable social mix of children from various backgrounds.
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"There are roughly 40 children in the group -- and it became very apparent last week that the playschool will be in a deficit of up to 4,000 and the parents will have to make-up the shortfall. And a lot of parents are finding it hard in the current economic climate," he said.
- reprinted from Independent ie.