Clare childcare providers say up to 20 percent of children on their waiting lists for services have yet to be born.
Parents-to-be are being warned they could face a two-year wait, if they don’t seek childcare places as soon as pregnancy happens.
61 childcare facilities across the country are believed to have closed in the first five months of 2021 – though the actual figure could be higher, as the HSE’s cyber attack has interfered with a full collection of data.
Anecdotal evidence suggests the pandemic has contributed to a lack of places for babies in particular, with people being uncertain of their long term plans.
A funding anomaly is believed to have resuled in creches prioritising children aged between three and five years old for places.
It’s led to calls from groups such as Early Childhood Ireland for investment in the sector for those under three to increase in the upcoming Budget.
Martina McCarthy, Deputy Manager at North West Clare Family Resource Centre, says as many as 1 in 5 children on their waiting list haven’t been born yet.
Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development show Ireland’s percentage income spend on childcare is the third highest out of the group’s 23 countries.
Couples with two children on an average income are said to spend around 33 percent of it on childcare here, behind only New Zealand and Switzerland.
Maureen Keane, who’s Manager of the Clare Family Resource Centre in Ennis, believes the industry has been forgotten about, both before and since the onset of the pandemic.
