Responding to this week’s Budget announcements, Fórsa said the future of the Irish workplace is being shaped by how working families with young children are forced to weigh the cost of childcare against entering or returning to the workplace.

Parents are being urged to sign up to the universal childcare subsidy, worth up to €22.50 a week or €1,170 a year per child, which is now available for all children up to age 15. 

Fórsa has welcomed a Government commitment to introduce paid leave for survivors of domestic violence under the a new Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022.

The Government has announced a series of reforms to the state pension system, which will see the introduction of a new flexible pension age.

Fórsa members in Ability West (Galway), Western Care (Mayo), St. Joseph’s Foundation (Cork) and Enable Ireland (Cork and Kerry) took part in three days of strike action last week.

While Budget 2023 contains several positive measures, it falls short in terms of protecting low-paid and low-income households from the highest inflation rates in almost four decades.