Parents face €400 monthly cost hike as creches withdraw from Core Funding scheme

Parents in Dublin and Meath are bracing for substantial increases in childcare costs, potentially exceeding €400 per child monthly, as the Fonthill Lodge group withdraws its services in Lucan and Clonee from the Government's Core Funding scheme starting in September. This decision impacts up to 200 families.

One affected parent described the financial strain, stating, "We’ve now cancelled all plans for a holiday next year and postponed all home improvements for two years at least." The parent added, "I’ll be taking on more overtime in work, so I will see my children a lot less in order to pay for someone else to look after them while I’m at work and it’s breaking my heart."

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We’ve now cancelled all plans for a holiday next year and postponed all home improvements for two years at least. I’ll be taking on more overtime in work, so I will see my children a lot less in order to pay for someone else to look after them while I’m at work and it’s breaking my heart.

The Fonthill Lodge group explained in a letter to parents that while they support the Core Funding scheme's goals of increasing state investment and improving educator pay, the requirement to freeze fees has made it unsustainable. Fees have remained unchanged since 2019, while wages have increased by 50 percent, food costs by 40 percent since 2021, and electricity by 62 percent. The introduction of auto-enrolment and statutory sick pay also added to their costs, putting the survival of the two creches at risk.

The Department of Children stated that the two affected services received a combined €743,000 under the Core Funding scheme last year, with significant further increases due before September. Despite some high-profile withdrawals, the department noted that overall participation in the scheme is higher this year than in previous years. However, providers' groups continue to warn of further withdrawals due to what they argue is insufficient funding.

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This has not been an easy decision. Since Core Funding was introduced, we have fully supported its aim of increasing State investment in childcare and improving pay for the educators who care for your children. We still strongly support those goals. However, Core Funding requires participating services to freeze their fees – which in our case means we haven’t increased our fees since 2019.