Childcare providers set to leave government funding schemes and increase fees, Government warned

Earlier this month, three major providers of childcare, including one in Cork which caters for 450 children, also signalled their intention to leave the government funding scheme.

More childcare providers are set to leave government funding schemes in a matter of weeks and increase fees, the Government has been warned.

According to Tusla figures, around 3,700 are engaged in the government's core funding model, which is a grant to Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare providers to support them in meeting operating costs. In recent years, providers in that system have agreed to freeze fees in exchange for increases in the subsidies available, though latest figures show that 900 childcare providers within the Government's funding system have increased their fees this year.