Clare’s childcare providers are calling on the government to urgently address funding deficits in their sector before it’s too late.
It comes as providers across the country will engage in a two-pronged protest this week over recruitment, retention and remuneration challenges.
The time is nigh for Clare’s creche owners and early years providers who will either march on Dáil Eireann this lunchtime or suspend their services until Friday in search of improved pay and conditions.
The demonstration has been organised by the Federation of Early Childcare Providers, who has already seen 189 of its members close their doors over the last eighteen months.
The key points of contention are the government’s CORE funding and Early Childhood Care and Education schemes.
Under the former , providers have been locked in a fee freeze since 2017 , while the latter has seen the weekly subsidy of €69 per child remain static since 2018, in the face of soaring utility bills and commercial rates.
Yet while the cost for operators continues to climb, enhancements to the Universal National Childcare Scheme announced in last year’s budget has seen €63 chalked off the weekly bill for families.
A South East Clare Creche Owner meanwhile, believes that if childcare cannot be sustained, the wider economy will come to a standstill.
In 2021, the industry recorded a 20% staff turnover rate in this county alone.
Noel Mulderrig, who along with his wife Siobhán, will be closing the doors of their KidzHaven centre in Shannon next June says future of the country is on the line.
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