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NEARLY ONE IN five childcare services providers in Ireland have been given State approval to increase their fees.
Figures obtained from the Department of Children after a Freedom of Information Request by The Journal Investigates show that more than 1,100 of Ireland’s 4,600 childcare services applied for permission to increase their fees in 2024, with around 850 given the green light.
Opposition TDs have slammed the government for allowing the increases, saying it flies in the face of promises to reduce childcare fees to €200 per month.
Childcare costs and availability were an important issue for parents during last November’s general election.
The Department of Children has said that the maximum increase allowed would equate to a rise of €33.30 for a 45-hour week, which would be an additional €132.20 every four weeks.
The Journal has reported extensively on the strain experienced by families around the country as they try to access the limited childcare places available — and afford the high fees.
The Programme for Government agreed by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Regional Independent Group said the government would progressively reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child.
However, Labour spokesperson on children Mark Wall said the number of approvals for fee increases do not line up with promises to reduce childcare costs.
“Parents need to see further reductions in their childcare fees, not Government approval of more increases,” Wall said to The Journal.
“So many parents are struggling to afford childcare and any increase, no matter the circumstances, will come as a blow to working families,” the TD said.
“We also need to recognise that many providers of early years care are struggling too, so we need to see better supports and funding for the sector to continue to deliver their services,” he said, adding that he believes the “only way to deliver affordable early years childcare is through a publicly funded model”.
Similarly, Sinn Féin spokesperson on children Claire Kerrane said that “despite constant rhetoric by the government that they have cut childcare costs for parents by 50%, the reality on the ground is very different and many parents continue to not only pay high costs but also costs that are increasing”.
Kerrane said there should be an urgent and independent review of the Core Funding model, including transparency about the gap between childcare providers’ costs and the funding they receive.
She said that despite the government promising €200 a month childcare, “many parents could not be further away from €200 a month, and with the fee assessment now concluded, fees will rise further”.
Social Democrats spokesperson on children Aidan Farrelly said that the fee increase approval figures “don’t surprise” him “in the slightest”.
He said that the government has yet to provide “any meaningful details” about how it would achieve its promise of capping childcare at €200 per month.
The Kildare North TD said he is aware of families in Kildare who have to travel over an hour each way to access childcare services — if they can secure one of the limited places available.
He said childcare not only needs to be cheaper but that the government needs to address the “systemic issues of accessibility, capacity and long-term career prospects for professionals who play such an important role in society”.
“It harks back to an existential reliance on the private market to fulfil what is fundamentally a public need.”
Childcare providers that avail of a government grant called Core Funding are generally not allowed to increase the fees they charge to parents.
However, they can apply for a Fee Increase Assessment (FIA) if their fees were “frozen at a level that may not be sufficient to sustain their business, even with the increased funding available through Core Funding”.
The Department of Children says that the FIA process must “balance the need of parents for stability with their early learning and childcare costs and the need for providers to operate viable businesses in order to continue providing this public good service for their community”.
Figures show that the department has received 1,146 applications from childcare providers looking to increase their fees.
Three-quarters of the providers that applied — 849 — have been given permission to charge a higher fee to customers.
That represents nearly one in five of all of Ireland’s 4,600 registered childcare services.
Of the remaining applications, 293 were denied and four are awaiting a decision. 111 have appealed the decision on their application and 76 have requested a review.
In a statement to The Journal, the Department of Children said that “where a demonstrable need to increase a fee was confirmed, the resulting increase did not exceed €0.74 per hour (the increase to the National Childcare Scheme subsidy from September 2024)”.
“For example, an offering of 45 hours was not be eligible for an increase of more than €33.30. This was to ensure that the impact on parents of approved fee increases is controlled as much as possible,” it said.
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