Iceland

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Reykjavik

Free day care in the Reykjavík?

The parties contesting seats on the City Council of Reykjavík in the elections scheduled for May 27th have markedly different policies concerning day care, reported Fréttabladid.

The Independence Party wants to lower day care fees by 25% from next September and believes that parents should only need to pay fees for one child.

Quoting recent statistics that 70% of Icelandic parents leave their children in day care for 8 hours a day and 30% for 9 hours per day, Independence Party candidate for mayor, Vilhjámur Þ Vilhjálmsson, proposed lowering the fees for the entire day instead of for "only the first seven hours".

At a press conference on day care issues yesterday, the Social Democrats proposed that in the fall 2008 all fees for the first seven hours of day care would be abolished.

The Left Green Party wants the same rules to apply for day care and elementary schools and also believes that the fees should be abolished.

The Progressive Party wants day care to be free after the age of 18 months while the Liberals wish to speed up development day care with the goal of being able to offer all children over one day care.