Conor Murphy's department denies a DUP claim it has failed to set up a £2m childcare scheme - saying it has no remit over the issue
The Department of Economy has denied a DUP claim that Conor Murphy is letting down childcare providers in Northern Ireland – after the party claimed it had not spent funds allocated for the sector.
The DUP said this week that despite being allocated £2m to help the industry, the Sinn Fein run department has failed to implement a support scheme and get funding out to providers.
But Mr Murphy’s department has said it “has never been allocated £2m to help childcare providers. This Department does not have a policy remit over childcare.”
Diane Forsythe had said many providers are struggling to meet rising costs such as national insurance, and the burden will ultimately fall on working families’ childcare bills.
This week, Conor Murphy announced his intention to run for a seat in the Irish senate – the upper house of the Dublin parliament. He will stand down as an MLA if successful. He has said he would use the new position to advance his party’s central aim of a united Ireland.
Diane Forsythe said on Tuesday: “Conor Murphy’s inaction failure to get money out the door is deeply disappointing. A targeted support scheme was to be implemented that could have gone some way towards alleviating the financial pressures on childcare providers, enabling them to maintain services and reduce costs passed on to families.
“Instead, we see a lack of direction and missed opportunities to make a tangible difference to the pressures faced by the sector. It is unacceptable that money - around £2m - which could have been used to support childcare providers has not been delivered by the Minister. This demonstrates a clear failure to prioritise a sector that is vital to our economy and society.
“The DUP has delivered millions of pounds of support through the childcare scheme provided by Paul Givan as Education Minister helping working families to the tune of £160 per month. This has been rolling out since last September with 14k children registered. Instead of focusing on divisive border poll politics, Conor Murphy needs to up his game and implement a comprehensive scheme without delay. Families and childcare providers deserve better”. She added: “The Minister must act now”.