Nursery/ childcare fees in Dublin

[Psychgrad]

Hi,

Potentially thinking about having a baby in the next two years. The organised planner inside me is telling me to research childcare fees in Dublin(where we might move in 2-3 years) or where we live now in London.

I know it’s pricey here and that childminders are usually cheaper but I’ve been finding it very hard to find out information for Dublin nurseries or childminders. Is it regulated like the way it is London, Ofsted type ratings etc? Can you pay as you need or do they expect you to pay a set amount of days? The latter would be difficult with my type of work. I think nannies/ babysitters appear to be cheaper than London from what I hear when talking to my Irish friends. However, as I have worked in childcare before, I have extremely high standards and wouldn’t be happy with just anyone so would probably pay more for someone qualified.

Anyone?

You can find Tusla (child and family agency) inspection reports here @Psychgrad Tusla Search. I understand there are moves to bring in greater regulation of childminders however I don’t think the plans have been fully implemented yet.

It’s a few years since mine were in crèche (Irish people rarely call them nurseries) but for full time care we paid €1,150 per month for a baby, falling to €1,000 for toddlers. The government pays a subsidy for the year before school (ECCE scheme) which will cover some but not all of the fees. This was for a Dublin City-centre crèche which was in demand - you may find cheaper options out there.

We also used a nanny for a few years - the going rate a few years ago was €12-15 per hour depending on experience, number of kids, whether they drive etc. I’ve seen nanny roles at up to €18 per hour advertised recently also. That’s for live-out; live-in would be lower.

Childminders are cheaper but I never used one so can’t give any info unfortunately.

Also - you will find it difficult to find ‘pay as you go’ childcare. Most providers need certainty around their income and will require you to commit to a number of days.

Ok thanks for the advice seems potentially just as expensive as London really or even worse because you get 15 (or 30?) hours free for 3 year olds here.

You get two years of funded preschool in Ireland too OP (the ECCE scheme that a pp mentioned). It can start the year the child turns three. Children legally must start school between the ages of 4 and 6 here, but the timing is at the parents' discretion. Most start around 5 now, depending on when the birthday falls...so a July born child typically starts the September after they turn 5, a Feb/ March born child may start at 4.5 or 5.5 years, for example. For the two years before they start school the child usually attends funded preschool for 3 hours per day during term time (though this is optional). If this is provided as part of their daycare service you will need to pay for any extra hours of care yourself.

Children legally must start school between the ages of 4 and 6 here
Sorry, I should clarify that homeschooling is also an option.

@LizzieAnt thank you. That’s good to know about the free preschool option, is that only for a set amount of hours? Three hours in the morning is probably all I’d want as I don’t really like the idea of full time crèche/ preschool, this obviously depends on my job and what hours I do, i may actually need full time at some point so I’m trying to see how much that would be incase I did need full time one day.

Yes, three hours per day during school term-time (Irish schools open 183 days/year with longish summer holidays of 8-9 weeks, 2 weeks at Christmas and Easter as well as midterm breaks). Some providers do mornings only, some offer a choice of mornings or afternoons - you need to pick one or the other. Some operate only as preschools, others offer the preschool hours as part of their wider daycare facilities.
Just checked the age eligibility too - 2 years 8 months is the earliest starting age and 5 years 6 months the oldest finishing age (though this can be extended in cases of disability). The child is entitled to two years funded preschool between these ages. I'm sorry I can't really help with prices of childminders in Dublin as I've no experience there.

www.gov.ie/en/publication/2459ee-early-childhood-care-and-education-programme-ecce/?referrer=/ecce/calculator/ecce-calculator.html/

I'm not in Dublin but it seems to be a similar story all over the country. Childcare is difficult to get. So it's often not even a case of what you would like but it's what's actually available. Part time places in crèches are next to impossible to get. What age is your DC?