Irish society ‘needs to plan’ for a time when grandparents are unable to help their children with childcare, one grandmother has suggested. 

According to a recent survey in Britain, half of all grandparents say they help out with childcare during the working week. 

On Lunchtime Live, listener Maeve predicted there will soon be “big issues” when grandparents cannot provide this support because of their own work commitments.  

“A lot of my colleagues are not retiring until 70,” she explained. 

“So, the number of retired grandmothers who are probably doing most of the minding is going to shrink. 

“So, I think we have to think about what the young people are going to do. 

“I feel very sorry for them.” 

Maeve noted that the birthrate has already “gone down so much” in recent years. 

“2008, there was 75,000 children born,” she said. 

“In 2024, 54,000 - that’s 20,000 less. 

“We have to help our young people have families.

“Going forward, we need a plan.” 

A grandparent having fun with their granddaughter. Picture by: Andor Bujdoso / Alamy Stock Photo.

Also on the programme was father of two Seán, who described his family as “extremely lucky” to have help from grandparents who live nearby. 

“My wife’s family, they’re able to help us with minding the children,” he said. 

“Our son is five, he’s starting school in September; before that, he was in preschool for two years. 

“But it was only covering half a day, so my mother-in-law would be looking after him for the second half of the day. 

“We also have a two year old who is too young to be going to preschool, so she’s looking after her full time. 

“We’re very blessed and grateful to the grandparents that they can look after them.” 

In the Programme for Government, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael promised to “reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child through the National Childcare Scheme”.

Main image: A grandparent and grandchild. Picture by: emailme3 from Pixabay