Gorey creche forced to close down. Nearly 1000 childcare services closed since 2019

A creche in County Wexford is scheduled to close in June 2026, bringing an end to a long-running childcare service in Gorey. Erika’s Fairy Wood has confirmed it will cease operations within the next six months, impacting families who rely on the facility. The daycare has served the local community for many years.

The issue was also brought into the limelight by Wicklow-Wexford TD during a recent sitting in Dublin Leinster House.

His speech can be read below:

“Childcare costs are completely out of control, with many people now paying the equivalent of a second mortgage. Shockingly, nearly 1000 Early Years Childcare Services have closed their doors over the last 6 years. The Federation of Early Childhood Providers stated that “childcare facilities are closing because of rising costs and lack of funding from the government. Childcare costs in County Wicklow average more than €11,000 per year per child, while across the border in County Wexford, they are more than €9000 per year per child. 40,000 children are now on waiting lists for childcare across the country,” he said. 

“Shockingly, the government’s increase in core-funding was a paltry 5 cents per child. Government policy is destroying the childcare sector.”

New statistics demonstrate that close to 1000 early years childcare services have been shut down in the past six years. A Department of Children report presented to figures found by RTE News indicates that since 2019, more than 977 early years childcare services have been shut. In the process, 579 new services were opened.

There are waiting lists of 40,000 children for childcare in the country. The Federation of Early Childhood Providers (FECP) reported that the childcare centres are shutting down due to the increasing costs and insufficient funding by the Government. Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE) is a two-year and free programme provided to children aged between two years and eight months and five years.

In 2021, the Government introduced the core funding scheme to help early learning and childcare providers with operating expenses. Operators were required to freeze their fee in exchange for signing up. The scheme has more than 4000 sign-up services. According to figures received by RTE News, more than 177 childcare services dropped out of the Government scheme in the first three years.