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The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has called for action to ensure all parents can access affordable, good quality childcare.

The commission said 20% of childcare facilities have not reopened since the start of the lockdown.

It said it had heard examples of some employers "responding well" and "accommodating flexible working".

However, it claims "others have been threatened with redundancy if they do not come into the workplace".

The commission described good childcare provision as "key to increasing women's economic participation and women's independence and in promoting equality between men and women".

Chief Commissioner Geraldine McGahey said there appeared to be "an increasing demand but a dwindling pool" of childcare providers.

She has urged Education Minister Peter Weir to act on the issue.

"Whilst of course we recognise the particular problems posed by the pandemic and that a revised childcare strategy will require Executive approval and significant new and sustained funding, it is also the case that the response to the Covid-19 crisis has added to, not diminished, the need for appropriate, accessible and affordable childcare provision," she said.

"It is our view that better childcare provision is fundamental to both supporting the workforce to deliver economic recovery and maximising economic participation, and we need it sooner rather than later."

At the end of May, the Department of Education "acknowledged that as more workers return to work in other sectors, childcare provision will be a key priority".

A spokesperson for the department said helping the sector cope with the "unprecedented challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic" had been a "priority", highlighting two schemes that had been created.

"There is no evidence to suggest that working parents are struggling to secure access to childcare at present," they added.

"It is hoped that work on the longer-term strategy can recommence in the coming months if current pressures subside."