Childcare payments may differ from county to county after creche fee audit

The review will take 10 months to complete and will inform Minister Katherine Zappone’s future budget decisions.

A REVIEW OF crèche fees nationwide could result in differing grant payments to parents in the future, depending on how much they spend on childcare.

Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone has announced that a country-wide childcare cost review is to be undertaken, with the audit findings being used to inform her budget decisions next year.

The review – which will be carried out by the winning applicant in a tender process – could determine what childcare payments families will receive, depending on where they live.

Although some cost surveys have been carried out in recent times, the minister believes the industry and government have been “operating in a vacuum” with no hard statistics on prices.

A survey by Pobal did, however, show the average price of a full-time childcare place is €167 per week, with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown being the most expensive part of the country for services.

Conceding that the current system is “one of the most expensive in the world”, the minister hopes the results of the review will help “finally build a sustainable quality childcare sector which will last for generations”.

“It will also ensure fairness in the distribution of supports and help address the genuine concerns over pay and conditions in the sector,” she added.

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