‘This would put me off’ – chronic shortage of childcare places forcing mothers to reconsider having another child

And now some women say the situation is forcing them to reconsider having more children.

Sarah Clarkin (31), from Knocklyon, south Dublin, contacted 30 Dublin creches to try find a place for her 16-month-old daughter, Penelope, without success.

One facility asked for a €500 deposit to secure a place for September 2023.

She told the Irish Independent: “This would put me off having another child.

“My parents can’t mind two children while I work.

“And I don’t think it’s entirely fair they have to mind my daughter.

“I’m really nervous if I can’t get my daughter into a creche by September, this year.

“My parents can’t mind a second child, it’s not a solution.”

The office worker added that although she and her husband, Mick (31), work full-time, they also “couldn’t afford” childcare for two children, which she estimates would amount to almost €3,000 a month.

“With one child, there can be some sort of a solution but not with two,” she said.

“The availability and affordability of childcare actually stops you participating in paid work.

“If I didn’t have my parents able to mind my daughter, I’d have to mind her, which would mean I wouldn’t physically be able to work.

“This must be much worse for single parents and parents who don’t have family nearby.

“I was in college for five years. I worked a decade before I had my daughter. My career is important to me.

“The situation with childcare annoys me so much.

“Is there an expectation women should give up work, because if they can’t access childcare, what impact does it have on women’s careers and on their getting promoted?

“If women aren’t able to work, they’re also not paying into their pensions, so this is having a huge effect on women.”

Trice Hosford, from Lucan, Dublin, said it took her eight months to find a creche place for her son, Tom, who is almost two years old.

She started calling around creches in March 2020 and feels “lucky” to have finally secured a place in November 2020, even though it is not near her home.

The financial worker said: “I honestly thought we would have three or four children.”

However, she added: “I’m personally worried if we’ll be able to have two children with childcare costs and (a lack) of places.

“It’s very much a woman’s problem too.

“This mainly affects women and their ability to work.

“There’s still this thought that women should stay home to mind the children.”

Other women have posted online about their concerns that the lack of childcare places and cost of childcare could force them to reconsider expanding their families.

One mother said: “We are definitely in a situation of having to time a second child due to this exact reason (problems with accessibility and price).

“And this is the case, even though my husband and I both work in good jobs.”

Another woman wrote online that she had started ringing creches after her 20-week scan and was told she had left it “late” to look for a place for a child that hadn’t been born.

Lisa Kennedy, who runs Monastery Preschool in Clondalkin, Dublin, said there is still a “problem” with funding in the baby to three-year-old early years sector. A staff shortage compounds the issue.

Ms Kennedy said there hasn’t been enough state investment to help parents pay for childcare from their salaries.

She also feels that funding is not bridging the gap for childcare providers.

She said many childcare staff had left the industry for better paid jobs in special education and she claimed they did not need to be as highly qualified for those roles.

While parents “might not understand why they’re paying €1,200 a month”, this payment was only amounting to around €5 an hour for a staff member working full-time, she added.

“The Government has ignored this problem for a century,” she said.

“It’s essentially a female problem. If you can’t find childcare, it’s still the women who have to stay at home. That’s borne out statistically.

“Every woman in Ireland should be shouting ‘Shame on this Government’.”

She added that it is “inhumane” that women feel forced into a scenario where they feel unable to have more than one or two children due to problems accessing childcare and affordability.

“The Government allowed this to happen, it’s as bad as the property crisis,” she added.

“We aren’t investing in childcare or our young children.”