Early Childhood Ireland calls on Government to erase shortfall in crèche places

In Cork, 534 children under the age of 1 are on waiting lists with just 17 places available for them. There are 1,124 children aged 1-2 on waiting lists with 36 places available, and a further 1,110 children aged 2-3 on lists with 291 places available. File picture: Denis Minihane

The Government has been urged to prioritise funding to increase the number of available places for children in early years settings in the upcoming Budget, as figures show thousands of children vying for just a few hundred spaces.

Early Childhood Ireland made the call ahead of October’s Budget, and ahead of the return of many early years and school age care settings which are set to re-open next week after the summer break.

It said that thousands of children are waiting to access the care and education they deserve, and a lack of proper planning has meant these needs are going unmet for children across the country.

“We hear stories of parents putting their child’s name down for a crèche place before they’re even born,” director of policy at Early Childhood Ireland Frances Byrne said.

“We know how many children are born in the state every year, and we need the Government to enact a proper capacity planning system to meet the needs and rights of young children.” 

Ms Byrne said that Ireland should have a system of planning cycles to ensure there are enough places for children in their communities.

Data that the group highlighted from the Annual Early Years Sector Profile, carried out by Pobal, showed that there are 6,663 children under the age of 1 on creche waiting lists with 223 places available. For children aged 1-2, there were 13,208 on the list with 675 places available and there were 12,448 children aged 2-3 years on waiting lists with 2,210 places available.

The figures also show how acute the problem is in Cork, with 534 children under the age of 1 on waiting lists with just 17 places available for them. There are 1,124 children aged 1-2 on waiting lists with 36 places available, and a further 1,110 children aged 2-3 on lists with 291 places available.

However, Early Childhood Ireland also said that waiting lists are not in place for all services and an individual child may be on multiple waiting lists for different services. Nonetheless, it said it the Government must ensure that every child has access to high-quality and inclusive early years and school age care.

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It also called for the Government to provide greater recognition and support for childminders, and offer families the chance to access financial supports, by implementing the National Action Plan for Childminding.

“In other countries, families get a choice between a place with a childminder or one in an Early Years centre and this should be our ambition for children here too,” Ms Byrne added.

Last month, Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman announced an increase in core funding for early learning and childcare services of €44m. His department said that this would see larger increases for places offered to children under the age of three.

“The increases I am announcing today will take effect in September 2024 and will support expanded capacity, particularly capacity for children under three and stability of income to services, particularly low-income services,” he said. “Since its introduction, I have pledged to grow core funding and I have delivered on that.”