IRELAND HAS SOME of the highest childcare costs in Europe, with more and more parents saying they are struggling to cope with soaring fees.

The amount of income Irish parents must spend on childcare is almost double the OECD average. The latest data from the intergovernmental body ranked Ireland joint fourth in Europe alongside Cyprus when it examined net childcare costs.

Only the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK are higher than Ireland. The data is based on a couple with average earnings and two children, and compares costs from 2023.

In practice, Irish parents are paying roughly €190 a week on average for early years childcare, according to Pobal.

In Dublin, this rises to well over €200 a week. The highest median fees in the county can be found in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, where it is almost €260 a week.

But many parents are paying more than this, as these figures are from the 2023/2024 year.

Earlier today, The Journal Investigates revealed that some parents are now facing huge fee increases as over 50 childcare providers have withdrawn from the government’s grant scheme.

The Core Funding scheme provides funding to early learning and school-age childcare providers towards their operating costs in return for fee freezes and caps.

But providers say this doesn’t cover the rising costs they’ve experienced, arguing they have had to withdraw to survive.

For the parents who have children attending these providers, they have been hit with fee increases to cover the cost of the government’s grant, often by more than €70 a week.

So how does this compare to some of our European neighbours, and are Irish parents the only ones feeling the pinch?

Investigations like this don’t happen without your support… Impactful investigative reporting is powered by people like you.

Childcare significantly cheaper in Italy

One country where the cost of childcare is cheaper than in Ireland is Italy, where despite lower wages and fewer government grants, parents can pay significantly less.

In Italy, the cost of childcare can vary depending on the provider, the municipality, and the income level of the parents.

There is also a sharp difference between the cost of childcare for under three-year-olds and for those between three and five years old, with the latter typically much cheaper.

Italian consumer organisation Altroconsumo reported in 2024 that full-day childcare in municipal nurseries in Rome can cost up to €524 a month on average.

This is significantly less than many providers in Dublin, where costs can range from €800 to well over €1,000.

Though childcare costs are more expensive in Milan – coming in at €669 a month on average – this is still substantially cheaper than in Dublin, where parents could expect to pay double that amount.

Italian families can also claim back up to €600 or so per year from their income taxes for childcare, and a “nursery bonus” of between €1,500 and €3,600 per year is given to parents depending on their income level.

Irish parents receive discounts on childcare through the National Childcare Scheme, which provides either a universal subsidy or an income-assessed subsidy.

The universal subsidy provides €2.14 per hour towards childcare for up to a maximum of 45 hours per week.

For a provider that is open year-round, this subsidy would amount to just over €5,000 per year.

Further support is available to parents of young children through the Early Childhood Care and Education programme, which provides 15 hours per week of free childcare for children between the ages of 2 and 5.

While these government subsidies are greater than can be found in Italy, the relative cost of childcare remains far higher in Ireland due to the substantially higher fees charged by providers.

But things aren’t perfect in Italy either.

Related Reads

Have your childcare fees increased? We want to hear your stories

Parents face huge fee increases as over 50 childcare providers withdraw from government scheme

Though costs may be cheaper than in Ireland, the main issue facing Italian parents is the acute shortage of childcare places that can make waiting lists very long.

The Italian national statistics office has reported that 60% of nurseries across Italy have children on the waiting lists.

This is also an issue in Ireland, with Pobal data showing that there are currently 77,000 children on waiting lists for childcare places around the country, though some children are likely on multiple waiting lists.

The scarcity of places in both countries means that for parents who have a childcare place, it can be very difficult to find another provider, no matter the cost.

Cost tied to income in France

Childcare is also significantly cheaper in France, with fees calculated using a person’s income and the number of children they have.

The more kids you have and the smaller your income is, the less expensive public and private childcare centres get.

For example, a person on minimum wage with one child could expect to pay roughly €170 a month for childcare.

This is below the national average for the weekly cost of childcare in Ireland, showing the stark difference between the two countries.

A different French parent with a net monthly income of €8,500 and one child would have fees of around €950 a month.

By tying the cost of childcare directly to a family’s income, those on lower incomes are protected from paying high fees, while those who can afford to pay more are required to.

Reducing the rate paid as the number of children increases also prevents larger families from being hit with an increased burden.

Cost of living impacting families in Spain

In Spain, the cost of raising children has increased significantly in recent years, mainly due to inflation and the rise in the cost of living.

Data from Save the Children published at the end of last year found that the average monthly cost of raising a child in Spain has increased by 13% compared to 2022, reaching €758 per child.

For children under six, the highest cost is childcare. It accounts for as much as a third of all money spent on younger children.

This increase is a concern for Spanish parents, with nearly 900,000 households unable to afford raising children even if they dedicate their entire income to it, according to the charity.

Nieves, a mother with two children, said, “with a normal basic salary in Spain today, it’s not easy” to raise children. “To live and survive, you can count on assistance, but it’s becoming increasingly complicated,” she continued.

Soledad, another mother of two, said that because salaries are low, it is difficult for families to have more than one child.

Raising children has never been cheap and these cost-of-living increases are only adding to the pressure on families right across Europe.

But Irish families continue to pay some of the highest childcare fees on the continent.

Should the exodus of providers from government funding continue, it’s likely that the gap between Ireland and the rest of Europe will only grow.

-

Have you been impacted by a childcare provider withdrawing from Core Funding and increasing their fees? We want to hear from you. Contact our team at investigates@thejournal.ie with your story.

The Journal Investigates

Reporter: Conor O’Carroll • Editor: Maria Delaney • Social Media: Cliodhna Travers

This article is part of PULSE, a European collaborative journalism project.

With reporting by Conor O’Carroll (The Journal Investigates, Ireland), Lorenzo Ferrari (OBCT, Italy), Adrian Burtin (Voxeurop, France), Lola García-Ajofrín and Ana Somavill (El Confidencial, Spain)