Parents in Kildare pay an average of €850 for childcare, Dáil hears

Parents in Kildare pay an average of €850 per month for childcare services, with the highest fee in the county standing at €1154, a Kildare South Labour TD has claimed.

Deputy Mark Wall was speaking on a Sinn Féin motion on childcare which came before the Dáil recently.

The Labour TD said he has been contacted by parents struggling to either find or to pay for, a childcare place in Kildare South.

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He said he has also spoken to a number of childcare providers in Kildare who are struggling due to low funding or an inability to get staff.

Deputy Wall told the Dáil: “The current system of early years education and care is not working for anyone. It does not work for parents, providers or staff.

“Ireland has some of the highest childcare fees in the European Union, with many working families paying a second mortgage in childcare fees. We also have the highest level of private provision of any OECD country.

“Childcare fees in my county of Kildare far exceed the nationwide average of €790 a month. Parents in Kildare pay an average fee of €850 a month, with the highest fee in the county standing at €1,154.

“Despite core funding promising to reduce costs, working families continue to see their childcare fees increase. It was a blow to many working families that instead of reducing fees, one of the first actions of the new Government was to approve fee increases of nearly 20% for some childcare providers. The Minister has said that getting to the cap of €200 per month per child is a long journey.”

According to Deputy Wall, the government needs to “put its money where its mouth is and ramp up the investment in the childcare sector.”

Deputy Wall pointed out that in Co Kildare alone, 11 services out of 184 have closed. This year, he said, over 30 service providers have withdrawn from core funding, and in the previous two years, 140 services withdrew.

He said that “clearly” the government does not have the “ambition” to match what is required in investing in early years childcare sector.

He added: “Staff are leaving in their droves due to low pay, with a survey by SIPTU showing the sector is struggling to retain staff and an average turnover of 25%. The Government recently confirmed an additional €15 million to support providers in meeting the cost of increasing the minimum rates of pay. For 2025, that is €45 million.

“Despite this, there has been great frustration among unions and educators due to the lack of progress on the new employment regulation order. The sector could be looking at losing €860,000 per week due to continued delays in implementing increased minimum rates of pay. The Minister must confirm what action she is taking to ensure the talks at the joint labour committee do not stall any longer.”