Childcare cost is a barrier to having children in rural Ireland – survey

63% of respondents to the Irish Examiner's Rural Ireland Thinks survey agreed the cost of childcare is an impediment to having children, up from 55% in 2024 when the survey was last taken. Picture: iStock

People living in rural areas increasingly see childcare costs as a barrier to having children, according to a survey carried out on behalf of the Irish Examiner.

The latest Rural Ireland Thinks survey found 63% of respondents agreed the cost of childcare is an impediment to having children. That is up from 55% when the survey was taken in 2024.

Small-sized childcare providers and childminders say they feel they are being squeezed out due to the policy being pursued by government, while mothers have described the impact on their careers and lives due to a lack of childcare options.

When broken down further, 33% strongly agreed and 30% agreed somewhat in 2026 that childcare costs were a barrier to having children, compared to 28% agreeing strongly and 27% agreeing somewhat in 2024.

Analysis of the childcare cost issue and of the Rural Ireland Thinks survey continues on Monday in the 'Irish Examiner' — in print, and online at IrishExaminer.com

When asked whether they agreed the government had done enough to bring down the cost of childcare, 38% strongly disagreed, 23% somewhat disagreed, and 18% agreed.

The Ipsos/B&A research also found there was a decrease in the number of adults in rural Ireland who said there is access to childcare or creche facilities in their area.

In 2024, 37% strongly agreed that there was access to childcare in their area but that fell to 27% in 2026. Those who strongly disagreed rose from 7% to 12%.

The proportion of respondents who said there was access to pre-school, schools, and after school care in rural Ireland was 67%, while 52% said that they were concerned about the future availability of childcare or creches in their area.

Staff retention and rising costs are the main challenges for childcare providers, while the private-funded model has also resulted in gaps in childcare provision in rural areas, where it is seen as less financially advantageous for companies to operate.

The Core Funding model, which began in 2022, offers grants to childcare providers who sign up, and requires them to freeze their fees in order to maintain low costs for parents, something they argue is increasingly difficult to maintain.

As of July, 93% of eligible providers, or 4,600 services, had signed up to the fourth year of Core Funding.

A coalition of groups set up by the National Women's Council, called Together for Public, have called for early year graduates to be paid at a similar rate to primary teachers with whom they are similarly qualified.

They say this would reduce the costs for both providers and parents and encourage staff to remain in the sector, which in turn would be hoped to make more childcare places available.

Issue persists as it 'mostly' affects women 

Mothers who spoke to the Irish Examiner spoke about the stress of not knowing if or when a childcare place would become available, and how the lack of provision had prevented them from returning to work after their maternity leave ended.

"There's a knock-on effect on everything from not having childcare," said Petrina O'Halloran, a mother of two living in Tullagh, Co Clare who was left without childcare this summer after their childminder ceased operating this year due to rising costs.

"There's less opportunities in the workplace, there's less opportunities for those with their own business, there's an effect on pension entitlements."

She said the fact that it mostly affects women's careers is "absolutely" part of the reason why more has not been done on childcare.

Frances Byrne, director of policy with Early Childhood Ireland, which represents around 4,000 preschool, afterschool, and full day-care providers, said accessing childcare provision has become more difficult in rural Ireland as options have become more limited.

This has forced parents to consider not returning to work or looking further afield for a childcare place.

"In very rural areas, you have parents considering a place in a different county," she said.

"That might not seem like a big deal, but in the day-to-day if something comes up, in the winter months if a child isn't well or if a staff member isn't well and they have to close a child's room, it has an impact."

Elaine Dunne, chair of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers, said that corporate childcare providers will not set up in rural areas, and smaller providers are struggling with rising costs.

This has left options in rural areas "few and far between" for parents, she said.