A commitment by Government to taking over the payment of wages in the childcare sector would reduce average weekly fees for parents from €200 to €56 and help address the sector’s staffing crisis, a coalition of campaign groups has said.Members of Together for Public, an alliance of NGOs, unions and others who support a State-backed childcare system, said such a move would have the support of many employers and take the State much of the way towards meeting its commitment to cap monthly costs at €200 per child.“What we hear from the providers is that the biggest cost they face is essentially wages,” National Women’s Council executive director Corrinne Hasson said at an event held to highlight the growing number of children aged under three on waiting lists for places in early learning services.“So what we are asking for is the Government to really, really come through on their commitment to bring early years education and childcare down to €200 per month per child. “You look at our school system, the Government pays the wages, even though the schools are individually run by their own boards. So really it’s about investing in childcare. It’s about investing in quality, and that’s what we’re hoping to achieve in Budget 2027.”Figures from Pobal, published last December, show that up to 46,241 children aged under three were on waiting lists for places in services, up from just over 40,000 a year before. The numbers are difficult to be exact about because many parents put children on multiple lists due to the difficulty in securing places. There was little confidence among the alliance that the figures for this year would be any better, with Hasson suggesting recent closures in the sector are likely to contribute to another increase.Corrinne Hasson, executive director of the National Women’s Council. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill