'No one expected this': Anguished Cork creche staff vow to fight to keep centre open
Staff and public representatives after a meeting at the Before 5 centre on Thursday afternoon following the shock announcement of the closing of the community creche/pre-school. Picture: Larry Cummins
Anguished faces emerged from an emergency meeting at Before 5 creche in Cork on Thursday following the sudden news the beloved centre, described as “the heartbeat of the community”, would close with immediate effect.
The move has left 100 families without childcare places next week and 14 staff, many of whom have worked there for more than 20 years, suddenly without jobs.
But within that anguish was a grim determination.
“We’ve lost enough from the northside already. We’re not going to let this go too. We’ll fight for it,” one staff member who asked not to be named, said.
Christina Mullins, Siptu member and room lead who has worked at Before 5 for 12 years, said staff were shocked and heartbroken.
“We got the text message yesterday at 3pm. It was a disgrace to be notified by text. We were under the impression that another family centre was taking it over.
“They had given us new contracts. We were told we’d be starting August 31. In six days that has all changed.
Lilian Hannover has worked at Before 5 for 28 years.
“We are horrified that we have children with needs who are coming back here that will now have to go somewhere else. For a child with [additional] needs it’s very important they have the same environment, we have AIMs [autism supports] allocated for them, where are they going to go?
“They have lunch boxes and bags all ready to go. It’s devastating. No one expected this. Some parents took their children out of other creches to bring them here. We were ready for them. Then to be told in a text that your job is gone. Why? We’ve been given no reason why the other provider pulled out.”
Financial concerns and regulatory burdens are some of the reported reasons for the sudden closure.
Siptu has called for the Tánaiste to intervene directly in the dispute.
“We are calling on Micheál Martin to ensure that this vital part of North Cork is serviced," Peter O’Brien of the union said.
“It’s been going for 50 years plus. There are children ready to start next week, all they’re missing is a layer of management to coordinate it. And we believe in the trade union that that is possible. There is still time for this to be achieved.
“The current board will be dissolved on September 4, the liquidator has been appointed. The company as it stands is gone but the building still stands and the staff are still available. We have a very tight timeline so we need political pressure. But it is possible.”
The Before 5 Centre on Churchfield Hill was founded almost 50 years ago as a community resource.
The Bishop of Cork has now been contacted about the imminent closure because the building is owned by the diocese.
Politicians said they were working cross-party to solve the problem and have urged the diocese and Cork City Childcare to sit down and thrash out a solution.
Fianna Fáil TD Pádraig O’Sullivan said another childcare provider may already be interested.
"From talking to Cork City Childcare, there might be an option or two in the pipeline.
“It’s a common goal to keep it going. Ideally you’d replace it with another community childcare option. That would ensure staff would retain rights, pay and so on. A change of model would create more instability."
But he admitted that “unless something emerges it won’t open".
Before 5 would be the fifth creche to close on the northside of Cork City in four years, Sinn Féin TD Thoms Gould, whose children attended the centre, said.
Mr Gould said although he was “worried about the timeline”, he believes the centre could be saved.
“My own two daughters went to pre-school and creche here, the staff are amazing.
He said all community childcare facilities should be part of the Department of Education’s responsibility, as primary schools are.
“There needs to be a complete review of governance of all community childcare to stop this happening every year.
“All childcare facilities like this should be brought into the education system like primary schools to stop them going to wall each year. This seems to be a national issue.
"It comes back to this [community and voluntary] model. We need to look at a centralised, primary-school type childcare set-up run by the State.”
Fianna Fáil councillor Tony Fitzgerald said: “The mood inside [the staff meeting] was despondent but there is hope that we can keep the centre open.”
He called for a sit-down between Bishop Fintan Gavin, Tusla, Cork City Childcare, childcare providers and parents to ensure the invaluable community resource is kept intact.
Although a “volume of work” would need to be done, he also believes keeping the centre open is still possible.
“There’s a history here that’s bigger than childcare,” a staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
“The community fundraised to establish this centre in the 70s, we hope that the community will save us now.
“Thousands and thousands of children have gone through here. Three generations have attended this centre, grandparents now bring their grandchildren. And it’s not just childcare, it’s a community centre, there are play services, painting, yoga, baby massage.
“We’ve lost too much from the northside already. We’re going to fight not to lose this too.”
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