A South East Clare Childcare Provider, who has been forced to take the decision to close his doors due to rising costs, claims the future of the sector is hanging by a thread.
It follows a meeting between the Federation of Early Childcare Providers and a cross-party group of TDs in Leinster House to discuss concerns over the long term viability of the industry.
A Childcare provider from the South-East of the county believes local economies and communities will fall into disarray, unless the government takes urgent action to address an ever growing recruitment and retention crisis.
Noel Mulderrig who has been running the Kidz Haven Centre in Shannon for the past twenty years, along with his wife Siobhán, was among the providers to speak in the Dáil.
Noel and Siobhán have taken the decision to cease operating the business in 2025, giving families in the catchment area time to find alternative care in the intervening period, and make necessary arrangements to combat the potentially detrimental changes to their work-life balance.
Noel claims that utility costs and payments to staff have skyrocketed, particularly in the wake of the Ukrainian conflict, while they say many are still reeling from the financial hardship of the Covid-19 pandemic.
You can listen to the full interview below.
He says while some government supports are available, the industry has become a bureaucratic mess, which has crippled providers attempting to make ends meet.
The decision by the Shannon childcare provider to cease operating, follows in the footsteps of over 70 other nationally who’ve closed their doors in the last year, amid spiralling costs such as utility and wage bills.
The scarcity of childcare services in this county has been consistently highlighted in recent times, with an independent survey carried out last month finding that there is no childcare available for babies from 6 months to twelve months in Clare.
A Clare Independent TD, meanwhile, has criticised Government attempts to address the recruitment and retention crisis, describing measures taken as “anti-rural”.
Kilrush TD Violet-Anne Wynne says it’s “beyond ridiculous” that people in rural Clare have to travel to urban centres to seek early years childcare.
