The Government is trying to find a way to provide childcare for health service workers as services close today for more than two weeks.

Creche workers have said they are being treated like glorified babysitters by the Government.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has said 1,382 creches across the country have been offered quotes by Allianz.

The Finance Minister Pascal Donohoe has said he hopes a €1,500 payment to childcare providers will reassure parents that creches will remain open next year.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe cannot guarantee that crèches now struggling to get insurance will reopen in the New Year.

The director of policy and advocacy with Early Childhood Ireland (ECI), Frances Byrne, has revealed that insurance provider Allianz has sent out quotes for insurance to 869 of the 1,300 crèches for whom their broker could not find insurance cover for 2020.

Two more creches have been ordered to close after being put through an extensive enforcement process by Tusla.

Childcare operators have said they are not prepared for new fire safety regulations and inspections at creches, but the Minister for Children Katherine Zappone has said they were aware of them before now.

A High Court judge will rule next week whether to grant an injunction restraining an insurer repudiating insurance policies for a Dublin creche chain at the centre of an RTE Investigates programme.

An eight-year-old boy, who as a baby attended a creche mentioned in an RTE expose documentary on the treatment of pre-school children, has settled his High Court action for €30,000.

A two-year-old boy, who fell and lacerated his left eyebrow while washing his hands in a crèche bathroom, has been awarded €32,500 damages against Wee Care Limited, Monkstown, Co Dublin.

Gardaí and Tusla are investigating allegations that a toddler was physically assaulted while in the care of a creche in Co Cork.

Several parents have withdrawn their children from a creche in Co Cork after a former staff member claimed that a toddler was assaulted while in the care of an adult on the premises.

There are calls on the Department of Children to reveal the 37 childcare facilities on Tusla's 'critical' list.

It also emerged that the Department of Children and Youth Affairs is not aware of the identity of the 37 facilities.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said CCTV footage should only be used in creches if it is given the complete backing of all parents amid calls for the safety measure to be introduced.

The director of policy with Early Childhood Ireland, Frances Byrne, is calling for Tusla, Pobal and the Department of Education to form a task force, with powers similar to Hiqa, to carry out inspections of childcare facilities.

Tusla could be given new powers to shut down sub-standard crèches “immediately” and to tell parents of any investigations they are currently at risk of knowing nothing about.

Fianna Fáil is calling for Tusla to have powers to immediately close childcare facilities.

A protest is to take place today outside one of the creches featured in an RTÉ Investigates exposé.

An undercover investigation had revealed a pattern of disturbing behaviour and practices including fire-safety breaches and rough handling of children.

One of the owners of the Hyde & Seek Childcare crèche chain is to take no future role in front line childcare provision as a result of findings to be revealed in an RTÉ Investigates documentary.

New figures from an EU Commission study show that the average creche cost for this age group is €771 per month.

Minister for Children Katherine Zappone says that her primary motivating factor in introducing the free childcare scheme was to rectify “decades” of a lack of investment in childcare.

A Cork creche may remain closed for up to a week because of an outbreak of the E.coli bug, which can cause severe illness, particularly in young children.

A dedicated crèche facility has been created at a refugee centre in west Waterford to cater for children of migrants awaiting permanent relocation, here.

A creche in Co Louth is among 6 businesses served with a closure order last month over breaches in food safety hygiene.

Vanessa Biléu and her husband, João Carlos de Sousa, had the idea of an online journal for creches when she was working as a pre-school teacher.

The two creche owners behind the Dublin firm that was at the centre of an RTÉ investigation alleging mistreatment of children have paid themselves a total of €350,000 over the past two years.

One of only two community crèches in Dublin’s south inner city is to close in mid-August leaving up to 50 families having to find alternative childcare for the new school year.