Tens of thousands of children are entering the new school year without access to early childhood education or childcare, according to newly released data, reports RTE.
Recent statistics from Pobal, the body responsible for managing early years programmes, reveal that as many as 40,000 children under the age of three are currently on crèche waiting lists throughout the country.
Among them, 6,648 infants under the age of one are waiting for a spot, with just 97 places available. For those aged one to two, 16,849 children are on the list with only 267 places free, reports RTE.
Meanwhile, 16,485 children between the ages of two and three are also waiting, and there are just 2,026 spaces accessible for them.
This reflects an increase from figures published earlier in the year, which showed just over 33,000 children under three on waiting lists, reports RTE.
The shortage also extends to after-school programmes, with more than 10,000 children nationwide waiting for a spot in these services.
Kildare, where the population has doubled in recent years, is experiencing serious pressure in towns such as Kilcock, Maynooth, and Kilcullen.
Alice Malone O’Neill, a co-founder of the group “Kilcullen Needs Childcare”, is facing difficulties securing after-school care for her child and said it may force her to give up her profession, reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s *News At One*, Ms Malone O’Neill said: “I have three children and my eldest son attends an after-school service in the town and a couple of months ago they announced that they can no longer provide an after-school service for children from first class onwards.”
“Immediately, we were met with this issue that we have no solution to ourselves,” she added.
She explained that they have no nearby family, both parents commute far from Kilcullen for work, and they do not work from home, adding, “we are in a tricky situation”, reports RTE.
She mentioned there are no other childcare providers in the area offering after-school care with available space.
She said there is another centre in the town that is already full and has stated it cannot take children coming from different childcare providers.
“My husband and I are saying to each other that one of us may have to give up our career because we don’t really have another option. There is nowhere else around the town, there is nowhere else nearby that has a space for after-school. We need to keep putting the feelers out there to see if there is anywhere or any other providers that could come into the town to provide an after-school service,” reports RTE.
“If they can find a fit for purpose building or an area suitable for children of school age,” she said, reports RTE.
Ms O’Neill noted they already know their son won’t have a place this time next year, reports RTE.
She also pointed out that her younger children—aged two and ten months—will eventually need a reliable option as well once they enter school.
She said a survey she conducted in June found 85 families in Kilcullen, representing 120 children, without access to after-school care.
“We collected people’s personal stories … there are people who are reducing their work hours. Nearly half of the respondent are seriously considering giving up their careers. And one in five already have and in some cases, both parents had to reduce their working hours because there aren’t enough childcare services to cater for the amount of children living in Kilcullen,” she said, reports RTE.
Ms O’Neill said she had heard of one parent thinking about relocating to Kilkenny so that her own parents could help with childcare due to the lack of options.
“So many people are actually affected by this issue,” she added, reports RTE.
Frances Byrne, Director of Policy at Early Childhood Ireland, has urged for stronger planning and more active State involvement in establishing crèches, reports RTE.
This call comes as some buildings originally designated for childcare remain unused or are being converted into houses, as developers request permission to remove childcare requirements from housing projects.
Current planning regulations state that developers must include a crèche with 20 childcare spots for every 75 homes built in a new estate.
Speaking on RTÉ’s *Drivetime*, Ms Byrne said: “There needs to be a short but very robust assessment done every time a new crèche closes, or a crèche is supposed to be getting built to make sure it is needed in the area,” reports RTE.
“If it is needed in the area and nobody comes forward to kit it out, the builder leaves it, as is their right… what we would be saying is that the State should be looking at kitting it out and putting the operation of it out to tender or finding a solution,” she added, reports RTE.
Ms Byrne argued that better planning is required, both in terms of demographics and in liaising earlier with city and county childcare committees in a much more thorough way, reports RTE.
Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Emer Currie, said the current planning guideline—20 childcare spaces for every 75 homes—is not being implemented effectively.
Speaking on RTÉ’s *Drivetime*, she stated that one problem is the childcare system cannot depend solely on land-use planning rules.
“It has to ladder up to a forward planning system where the department knows where places are needed and what kind of places are needed,” she said, reports RTE.
She continued: “We are seeing empty crèches in Dublin-West, some of those have been turned into houses, some of those are built like houses,” reports RTE.
Ms Currie highlighted the absence of standard design and building regulations for crèches, unlike the guidelines that exist for schools, reports RTE.
“What you actually have, is buildings going into estates in the wrong location, not suitable at all for crèches,” she said, reports RTE.
The TD referenced examples where residents were let down when promised crèches were never built in new housing estates.
“We have this review of the planning guidelines, but we also have a commitment from the Government to step into State-led facilities.
“I think there is a real opportunity to make this work, for planners, for builders, for providers, in that the State should be stepping in,” she said, reports RTE.
Ms Byrne concluded that progress appears to have stalled, and that the government needs to refocus and take a much more proactive role in childcare planning, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
