Kilkenny parents forced to fork out staggering €9,000 on childcare costs

By COLIN BARTLEY

THE cost of full-time childcare for one child in Kilkenny now stands at just under €9,000 per annum.

The average weekly cost of full-time childcare is €168.25, which equates to €8,750 per year.

The costs were revealed this morning by the Department for Children and Youth Affairs, which shows the cost of childcare in Ireland has risen by almost 8% in the past 12 months.

The data was collected from 4,000 childcare centres across the country and it shows the average full-time fees are now costing €184 per week.

People in Dublin and the commuter belt are paying significantly higher fees for childcare, with those in Dun Laoghaire/ Rathdown paying nearly 50% more than people in Kilkenny, €246 per week – which equates to over €4,000 more per annum.

Today’s figures come out just before the introduction of the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), which will provide financial support for early learning and care and school-age childcare in Ireland.

Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone is urging parents to check newly released figures to find out how much childcare costs in their area.

“The cost to families of early learning and care and school-age childcare remains higher in Ireland than in other OECD countries – with wide variation in fees across the country,” she said.

“As Minister, I want to see improvements in terms of affordability for parents and the quality of service offered to children.”

Neighbouring Co. Carlow has the lowest childcare costs in the country with fees coming in at just €148 per week, which is still €7,700 per annum.